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Rurouni Yahiko
A Rurouni Kenshin continuation fic
By Chester Casta�eda
gab_ab@edsamail.com.ph
http://www.geocities.com/gabriel_abdiel/fanfiction.htm
Ah, yes... the gratuitous fight scene chapter....
A few more notes before proceeding:
< > indicates character thoughts
" " indicates character speech
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Chapter 2: Good-byes
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"What am I going to tell Kenshin and Kaoru now?" Yahiko worriedly
muttered to himself as he yet again scoured the streets for any sign of
the couple's lost son. He remembered Kaoru's words from before...
something about his foolish pride and arrogance, but mostly about the
revisal techniques being ineffective.
<Ha! Ineffective? I only used one maneuver from it, and it was
able to dispatch a freakin' ninja! How do you like that, Kaoru?> Yahiko
mentally congratulated himself, disregarding the fact that the man did
look more like a drunken lout instead of a master of the dark arts, and
also the minor detail of the ninja not really being 'defeated' in the
conventional sense. He pushed all such thoughts from his head as he
noted the power and precision of the deceptively simple strike he made...
the result of many months of training with the sakabatou.
<My technique is... infallible. The Hiten Misturugi Ryu and the
Kamiya Kasshin Ryu fusion is possible... I'll prove it to them. I can do
it,> Yahiko assured to himself. <I'll train and develop my kenjutsu, and
then become the swordsman that I was meant to be... the man that I was
meant to be. I have to do that, or else all this talk of genpuku would
be just that... talk.>
He rubbed his eyes once, calling out Kenji's name from a nearby
alleyway. <It's the reason why I have to get out of here. I want to
search for my manhood the only way possible... on my own.>
He called out again, riling up several dogs in the process. He
yawned, as he had been up the whole night, but the rising panic within
him put his drowsiness at bay, beckoning him to continue with his
endeavor.
<I have to go... I have to....> Yahiko groggily shook his head
as images began to dance in his eyes... images he had seen before.
The image of him running alongside Kenshin and Sanosuke replayed
itself in his mind.
"Kenshin isn't the only one I expect great things from," Sanosuke
said to Yahiko, chuckling good-heartedly.
"You'll only be as strong as you want to be, Yahiko," Kenshin said
in his usual cheery manner, smiling.
<I have to follow my own path!> The vision of Yahiko's self went
unhesitatingly toward a fork in the road, separating himself from his
two other companions. <I owe it to Sanosuke's expectations... to
Kenshin's expectations... to my father and mother's as well... I _have_
to do it.>
But that vision of Yahiko suddenly stopped as a very angry Kaoru
blocked his path.
"You and your foolish pride! You're so self-assured that you think
you could get through everything with a smirk and a swing of a sword!
But look at what your conceit did... now I've lost my son AND IT'S ALL
YOUR FAULT!"
Yahiko just froze from his spot as he saw Kaoru suddenly break down
and cry. He couldn't even offer a hand of comfort... before he could
even notice, his own self-image had already merged with his own
consciousness, shifting his point of view as an apparition of Kenji
briefly flashed before him.
"Wow! Big b'wotha was g'weat!" he said, before altogether
disappearing into the mists.
Yahiko fell on his knees, fatigue finally catching up on him. <Some
great swordsman I am... I've failed in protecting Kenji and I was barely
able to protect myself... so I've broken both of my promises to
protect... I'm a failure as a swordsman.>
"I'm just... a big fool," Yahiko said, his eyes shimmering in tears
he would not allow to fall. He fiercely rubbed his eyes as he looked
around his surroundings. Incidentally, he had already made his way back
to the Kamiya Dojo during the time he wandered around, distracted.
He braced himself as he dared himself to enter the compound,
wondering briefly if Kenshin and Kaoru were already asleep. <No... I
have to tell them... this is important. What if Kenji was kidnapped
by the Yakuza or even by that weird ninja guy? They have to know.>
To confirm his convictions, a chuckling specter of Kenji suddenly
appeared in front of him, screaming, "Big b'wotha!"
That was before the aforementioned specter suddenly punched him in
the eye.
"Ow! What the heck?!" Yahiko yelped in surprise.
Kenji blinked once. "Why big b'wotha shocked? You say once that you
big boy now, so you tol' me if eva'h you sob like baby, be shu'h to
punch you in the eye. So I did that." Kenji blinked further as he was
surrounded by the tentative embrace of his foster brother.
"Dammit, where were you?! I was looking all over for you the whole
night. I thought the yakuza or that crazy man that attacked me with the
sword-canes got you. What happened?"
Kenji quirked an eyebrow... a curious mannerism he learned from
his mama. "I went home... I know how to go home. I'm fast. You
stupid-slow."
He pinched and stretched the little tot's cheeks. "That's the
thanks I get for looking for you in all of Tokyo for the entire night?!
And what the heck are you doing awake so early in the morning?!"
Kenji shrugged. "I dunno about that... but mama really gave it to
daddy last night... daddy was in big t'wouble," Kenji snickered at the
thought. His features suddenly turned pensive as he looked toward
Yahiko's direction.
"You not goin' away anymo'... big b'wotha?"
Yahiko heaved a sigh, smiling at Kenji. "I dunno. We'll just have
to see." He looked eastward, beams of light shooting through the sky,
reassuring him of a new day.
***
Tsubame waited patiently at the gates of the Kamiya dojo, worry
etched on her fragile features.
"Oh, Tsubame... what a nice surprise. What brings you here?"
Kaoru inquired as she wiped her brow, bokken in hand. "I'm kind of in
the middle of practice with some of the students, so please excuse my
appearance."
"I'm so sorry to disturb you, Kaoru-san... but I was sort of
wondering," Tsubame wondered, a light blush appearing on her cheeks.
"Have you seen Yahiko-kun?"
"Oh... OH! Of course, of course! Tell me... why _are_ you looking
for Yahiko?" Kaoru prodded cheerfully.
"Um... we kind of agreed on having dinner tonight at the Akabeko
after my shift in the morning, since I won't be working in the
afternoon, so it won't be awkward for me to eat and serve at the same
time, and...." Tsubame trailed off, her hands on her burning-red cheeks.
"That's perfect! I mean... he's here," Kaoru said, giggling a bit.
"He was up all night last night when he came back to the dojo... it was
all due to my husband's... negligence... well, that's nothing
important," her left eyebrow quirked up as she nearly snarled at the
memory.
"He had to catch up on his sleep, and he was too tired to return to
his longhouse... so we let him sleep here. He's probably in a futon
there somewhere right now."
"Oh, well... if he's still sleeping, I really shouldn't...."
"Oh, nonsense! He promised! And he already had his fair share of
sleep... he practically snored away the entire morning. He should be
awake by now... come on, let's wake him up!" Kaoru insisted, urging the
young girl towards the open yard inside.
"B-but Kaoru-san..." the shy young girl weakly protested.
"Mama! Mama!" Kenji cried out, tears in his eyes as he
pitter-pattered towards maternal comfort.
"Huh? Baby, what's wrong?" Kaoru soothed as she wrapped her arms
around the distressed little tot. "Don't worry, mama's here."
"Mama, big b'wotha is gone! It all my fault... shouldn't hab
made him worry so much, shouldn't hab left him when the bad man
attacked...." Kenji sobbed, crying on her mother's bosom.
"Sshhh, sweetheart... it's not your fault. I'm sure Yahiko's just
in the dojo somewhere... maybe he went back in the longhouse or
something... there, there... don't cry."
"That's right, Kenji... there's no need to worry. It's not as if
Yahiko's going to leave without telling us," Tsubame reassured.
"But he did told us! At least he t'wied... he t'wied to tell
daddy, but he suddenly went to sleep. Mama was away, and I think he
too shy to tell you, Tsubame-chan," Kenji said, vexed.
Kaoru was a bit shocked, not able to fully follow what the
toddler was trying to say. "W-wait... you said that your father
suddenly... fell asleep? You're not just teasing Mama now, are
you... Kenji?" With that, the toddler replied with a solemn shake of
his head.
<The dizzy spells! Kenshin should have told me sooner... that's
why Kenji was able to run away. He should stop playing hero and be
honest with me for once!> Kaoru thought indignantly, but all her
thoughts were suddenly cut short as she heard a low thud on the ground.
"Tsubame-chan?!"
Tsubame was on her knees, an almost-frenetic look on her face.
"No... Kenji must have misunderstood. Yahiko-kun never journeyed any
further than the Maekawa Dojo... not for the last five years. And he'd
never leave without telling... not without saying good-bye... it's all
a big misunderstanding."
"Kaoru-dono... Tsubame...." Kenshin started as he slowly made his
way out in the patio, still not fully recovering from his fainting spell
yesterday.
"Kenshin, why didn't you tell me you fainted yester-- what are you
holding in your hand?" Kaoru double-took.
Kenshin gave a poignant look before responding.
"It's Yahiko's farewell letter."
***
"What was that moron thinking, leaving Tokyo like that?" Kaoru
fumed as she re-read the letter for the seventeenth time. "And half of
his sentences doesn't even make sense... that's what he gets for not
paying attention when I taught him how to write... that stubborn,
arrogant idiot!"
"Don't be so hard on him... look, at least his handwriting is
better than mine," Kenshin said, holding his hands up in a calming
manner.
"Everybody else has better handwriting than you, Kenshin! That's
beside the point! Don't tell me you actually consented to this?" Kaoru
waved the letter threateningly at Kenshin, as if it was a shinai or
bokuto she was wielding. "What he did was highly inconsiderate and
downright rude! Why, look... Tsubame was so devastated she practically
cried herself to sleep here in the dojo."
Kaoru gave a once-over at Tsubame's sleeping form in the futon laid
side by side with Kenji's on the other room, sighing. "Poor thing... she
was the one most affected by that stupid idiot's decision."
Kenshin rubbed his temple a bit before speaking. "I kind of
understand Yahiko's side of the story. Ever since he received the
sakabatou as his genpuku present, he took it upon himself like it
was some sort of great responsibility... which it essentially is. He
trained and worked harder than ever before... he really took genpuku
seriously... if he really had 'come of age,' then he must have something
to show for it. Thus his belated decision to wander around for a while."
"It still doesn't excuse his not saying good-bye to everybody...
especially to poor Tsubame-chan," Kaoru persisted adamantly.
Kenshin gazed intently at the floor, trying his best not to meet
Kaoru's gaze. "Sometimes the hardest thing about parting is the
good-byes... they present such strong feelings of regret and an
unwillingness to let go... concentrated in one brief moment... that it
would almost be enough to... it must have been very hard for Yahiko
to come up with the decision already, so long good-byes would have
complicated matters."
Kaoru's eyes widened in realization. <Of course... it was like
Kenshin's good-bye before he went to Kyoto.>
The couple was silent for a while as they shared a mutual
moment of understanding.
"I guess not saying good-bye has its merits," Kaoru conceded,
gently grasping Kenshin's hand with her own. "I'm just saying that it's
not like Yahiko to weasel out of his responsibilities like that."
Kenshin absently nodded to that. "Though... it would seem that
Yahiko and Kenji... have gotten closer," Kenshin deduced.
"Yeah, they kind of look cute together... like they were really--
Kenshin, what's wrong? Is it another dizzy spell? I'll get some water."
Kenshin shook his head. "There are people... a lot of people...
outside. <I should have sensed this earlier... this 'disease' has
robbed me of my outside senses.>
"I don't understand... is there a parade of some sort? It's the
middle of the night!" Kaoru started but stopped. "You couldn't possibly
mean...?"
Kenshin spoke somberly. "These people... their kenki... it's that
of murderous intent. They're intruders."
Kaoru's eyes widened. "Intruders?" Then her eyebrows met. "I'll
get the spare bokken. I'm sure you could handle them better than a
shinai, right?"
Kenshin nodded as both husband and wife rose up from the floor,
careful not to wake up the two sleeping children.
***
"Climb over the gates! Ram them, if you have to! I don't care if
their neighbors suddenly sounded the alarm or something... let them!
These pathetic Tokyo police couldn't possibly stop my powerful army of
yakuza!" Gasuke screamed boisterously at the assembled troupe of thirty
men. "Not even Battousai could handle all of us... and other than him,
there are no other threats! There are just women and children in there,
so don't hesitate! Waste them all... you could even have the woman for
yourselves if you want... but not before Battousai is dead."
Several of the men had already put up long ladders over the dojo
walls, while a few have already made it in the inner courtyard.
"You seem sure of yourself, Gasuke," Takae said as he suddenly
appeared from behind the Yakuza boss. "I just hope your attitude will
not lead to folly or death."
"The old Battousai could have easily taken us out with a few
strikes of his sword... he could have sensed us coming even as we are
talking at the outside of these gates. But where is he now? He's just a
washed-up samurai who doesn't even have his own sword to protect
himself. I assure you, Battousai and his family will die tonight,"
Gasuke assured superciliously as half of his men have already made it
inside the yard.
Gasuke grinned as the front gate was flung open.
He then stared dumbstruck as several of his men flew in the air at
various directions and velocities, all landing unceremoniously like rag
dolls. "Who... who did this? Battousai?! Battousai, is that you?!"
"I've been called worse," a suprisingly very female, and not merely
effeminate, voice greeted the Yakuza honcho. "I am Kamiya Kaoru, master
of this dojo. You have defiled this sacred training ground. Who are you
and what are you doing here?" Kaoru then looked shocked for a second as
she shakily pointed her bokuto at the man, saying, "You... you're the
yakuza thug that beat up Yahiko six years ago! Boy, you got ugly as
you got older."
"Shut up, bitch! Where's Battousai?!?" He looked around at his men,
all suddenly frozen like statues. "What the hell are you all waiting for?
ATTACK HER!!!"
Several more of his thugs fell like puppets whose strings had
been cut off. He grimaced as he recognized the scene all to well. "Come
out... I already know you're there."
"Hiring entire groups of people to kill off a man, a woman and a
child? I know Yakuza usually don't prioritize morals, but you scumbags
are the lowest of the low," Kenshin said, appearing from the side of the
open gate as he slipped his wooden sword inside his cloth-belt, going
into his usual battou-jutsu stance.
"There you go again, preaching like some sort of moralist... well,
let's see just how ethical your mouth could get while being fed with hot
lead!" Gasuke raucously declared as he pulled out his pistol.
"Kenshin, watch out!" Kaoru said, not taking any chances at
Kenshin's reaction time as the first shot was fired.
The bullet imbeded itself in the wooden gateway to where Kenshin had
been standing. Kenshin, faster than the eye could blink, was already upon
Gasuke.
Kaoru heaved a sigh of relief. <It'll take that Yakuza hoodlum a
while to reload his one-shot pistol... Kenshin won't even give him the
chance, now that he had dodged the bullet. The danger has passed.>
Kaoru was awakened from her stupor as resounding clangs were met
up around a maniacally cackling Gasuke. <What's going on? Gasuke's not
even moving! I could only see glints and flashes of blades... whose
blades is Kenshin parrying?>
"I have all the time in the world to reload my gun and shoot you
at my own leisure... you know why, Battousai?" Gasuke taunted at the
surprised former assassin. "It's all because of one man... meet Takae
Masahiro, the last remaining ninja of the Takae clan!" The yakuza head
then began reloading his pistol as Kenshin remained on the defensive,
backing away against the mostly-invisible ninja whose only proof of
existence was his flickering visage every now and then as the blades
reflected the moonlight.
"Kenshin!" Kaoru called out as she tried to help, but several of
the yakuza began surrounding her, forming a wall between her and the
heated battle outside the dojo gates. Several prone figures also started
to get up, taking on a second wind.
"Dammit, get out of my way, you hoodlums! Hold on, Kenshin!
Tsuka no Gedan--Hiza Hijiki!" Kaoru declared as she barely avoided her
nearest opponent's mid-section hack by diving down and breaking his
kneecaps with her bokuto's thick handle, effectively disabling him.
The fight ensued.
Kenshin backed away ever so slightly as one of the blades sliced
through air, splitting one of his stray bangs. <An overextension... he's
open,> Kenshin thought as he turned around and countered with a powerful
strike from his fairly notched-up bokuto.
Kenshin's now visible adversary skidded a good three yards away
from the recoil of the his attack. <Incredible... so this is how it
feels like to be struck down by the great Battousai... the searing
pain... it makes me feel so alive!> He chortled to himself.
"You barely had a serious fight for over six years... you seldom
practice outside of the usual daily kata... your health has begun to
fail you... you even gave away your sword," Takae stated, looking
directly through the rend over his flat, straw hat. His mostly white
eyes glared intently at the ex-vagabond. "But your Hiten Mitsurugi
Ryu is still quite formidable... go ahead and charge! Charge with
your best attacks!"
Kenshin regarded his opponent briefly before charging again. <His
effective use of the colors of his garments... in shades that would
reflect minimal light as possible... complements the cloak he uses. By
perfecting movement and balancing his speed, he could execute a near
perfect invisibility trick that doesn't merely rely on shadows and
shade... his clothes themselves acts as his blanket of shadow. It was
effective enough to fool me, even in the moonlight. I won't give him the
chance to fool me again.>
"Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, Ryu Sou--" Kenshin started to say, but before
he could even bring down his near dilapidated wooden sword, his whole
world suddenly whirled into frenzy as a sudden pain tore through the
very center of his soul. It erupted from every part of his body... from
every pore of his skin... nothing mattered now except the pain. But it
was very brief... what worried him at the back of his mind was the a
lack of sensation from his surroundings that followed the brief lance of
excruciating torture. He fought against the weightless trance with all
the inner strength he could muster, as he finally discerned the oncoming
blades going downward towards him.
"Hagane Tachi Kai!" Takae hollered.
<The 'Iron Cleaver' technique?> Kenshin idly wondered as he
prepared to block the attack.
Splinters and wooden chips flew all around the area as the remnants
of Kenshin's bokuto fell noisily on the ground.
<Was it my imagination... or did Kenshin hesitate when he charged
at that ninja?> Kaoru taught as she continued to choke one of her
aggressors with her still mostly intact bokken while in a makeshift
dogpile with all the other ruffians. Her eyes then widened in
realization. "Kenshin, watch out for...!"
A gunshot rang out, silencing the boisterous night.
Kenshin, having just awakened from his dangerous reverie, barely
evaded the path of the pistol's deadly projectile, grazing him on the
side the way a missed thrust from a sword would.
Gasuke gleefully cackled like a rooster in heat, pulling a second
gun from his coat. "This time I won't miss. DIE, BATTOUSAI!"
***
Gasuke saw a brief flash in the corner of his eye... then he felt
a cold, blunted metal on the back of his neck.
His pistol misfired, bloodying his hand
Before he could even react enough for him to scream or to flail
his arms wildly, he was already flying towards a nearby tree before
landing face-first on tree trunk.
"What the hell?!" Kaoru stated.
"Oro?" Kenshin articulated.
A spiky-haired shadow descended upon the entire potpourri of chaos
under the light of the moonlit sky.
Yahiko Myoujin grinned... there was nothing like a good entrance
to jumpstart a late night brawl.
"Sorry I'm late... I had to roughen-up some guys at the pier and
around the old quarters where the former boss Tanishi stayed to gather
some useful information... and guess what? That guy eating tree bark
over there is a usurper. He murdered Tanishi just to get complete
control of his business. Good thing I came here just in time...."
A stray slipper hit Yahiko squarely on the face, silencing him.
"Instead of blabbering there like an idiot... producing more wind
than a typhoon," Kaoru growled as she struggled to get up amidst getting
tackled by grown men at least twice her size. "You could, I don't
know... help us out a bit here?!? ACK! I can't believe you touched me
there! How dare you! I'm a married woman! Take that! And that! And..."
<The old hag... needs help? It's those poor, pathetic bozos stupid
enough to latch onto her that needs help,> Yahiko intoned to himself.
<What the...? Kenshin and that guy with the weird straw hat and cloak
had disappeared. Wait... they must have gone in the dojo!>
One of the punks suddenly pointed a sword-cane at Yahiko's
direction. "I remember you! You're the boy who beat us up yesterday!"
"We'll show you what happens to people who mess with the Yakuza!"
Yahiko sighed as he prepared himself. <Wait for me for a moment,
Kenshin... I'll catch up with you, no problem.>
***
<He went in here... in the training room... I must not let him
near Kenji and Tsubame,> Kenshin thought, tensing himself. <And I came
here in a hurry without a weapon. Oh well... perhaps I am the
overbearing martyr Kaoru-dono claims me to be.>
"Ah... so you came here after all... as predicted. I knew you
couldn't resist this trap... trying to protect your loved-ones and all.
It's so typically you," Takae said, flickering into existence. "A few
stabs here, a few thrown blades there... who knows what could have been
the result? Perhaps the return of the old Hitokiri... the greatest of
all killers? Should I even risk it?"
"For a ninja, you seem pretty talkative," Kenshin scoffed.
"Ah... excuse me for that... it's just so rare for me to get so
excited like this," Takae explained maliciously, taking on a whole
different appearance from the dispassionate ninja from before.
Kenshin had taken a different demeanor as well as he narrowed
his eyes and openly scrutinized his foe. "You were the one spying on
us for days on end for the last two weeks... weren't you?"
"Yes," Takae openly admitted, as if he had just noted that the
night was cold. "It took a lot of effort to spy on you, as you were
highly-aware of your surroundings. I had to use the best of our clan's
shadow techniques... but lately you've suddenly became lax. You weren't
much of a challenge anymore."
Takae took off his damaged straw hat altogether, revealing a
wrinkled, world-weary face, and eyes as white as snow. "It could be
that you're suffering from some sort of disease or it could simply be
the fact that your constantly-battered body has finally reached its
limit. It doesn't matter... it's just that the whole situation reminded
me of the general state of ninjutsu nowadays. I am the only remaining
ninja of my clan... the others are either dead or have taken another
occupation... another life. I could not do that... not even in the face
of this Meiji regime. Ninjutsu... like yourself... is slowly dying
out." Kenshin slightly winced at that last statement.
He then drew his two kunai at the reformed Hitokiri, saying, "But
those first few seconds of fighting and the demeanor you have right
now... even though these are just glimpses and shadows of the great
Battousai... I still want to fight him! The flicker of your true self
was enough to wet my appetite... come, transform into your true self
and give me the magnificent fight I deserve... and I will show you
the true power of the shadow arts of the last of the Takae clan!"
Kenshin turned a bit contemplative as his eyes widened in shock.
He then said, "Go ahead with your plan... I have no qualms with that...
but please... don't ever involve these little ones I protect, or you
would live to regret it."
"You speak with flourish, even though you currently have no weapon.
You're so confident with your skills that you believe you could win
without one. But I don't want this to become a contest of dodging and
weapon-snatching, and I have no desire to strike down an unarmed man.
Here! Hold this!"
Kenshin neatly caught what appeared to be, for all intents and
purposes, a japanese sword. Before he could protest further, Takae
had already disappeared.
"Fight me with that sword whose edge has been put in the correct
side... lest I send these little ones you protect to heaven!" a
disembodied voice said, glinting daggers seemingly flying from all
directions of the room at once, all converging toward the former
rurouni.
Kenshin had already went into his battou-jutsu stance when two
familiar friends... his former sword and his current prodigy... jumped
in front of him, into the dancing blades' way.
"Yahiko," Kenshin half-whispered.
***
Gasuke slowly got up from his awkward position, spewing out bits
of tree bark, moss and insects that somehow ended up in his mouth while
he was out of it. He then winced a bit at the current state his hand was
in. He couldn't feel any pain from it anyway, he semi-thought as he
wiped his blistered and bloodied hand on his upper garment as if the
blood wasn't his own. He then grudgingly tried to recall what had
happened. He fingered the imprint on the back of his neck.
<A fucking reversed-edged sword! I was hit by a fucking
reversed-edged sword! Did Battousai... no, he gave it away... he gave it
away TO THAT FUCKING WASTE OF SPERM, YAHIKO!> he mentally screamed,
veins popping from his forehead amidst bloodshot eyes.
Looking around his general vicinity... an entire lot filled with
his unconscious and semi-conscious thugs... he discreetly reloaded his
last remaining pistol as he sneaked off inside the dojo, a good-distance
away from the screaming banshee that beat up the remainder of the
conscious gangsters.
***
Yahiko tried his very best at countering the deadly flurry of
hacks and slashes, sparks flying from the repeated clang of metal
resounding all around the enclosed room.
He was able to block all of the dagger's strikes... from one
of the blades. As the two opponents parted a good distance away from
the fury of the attack, Yahiko flinched in pain. He noted that his
fingers and forearm suffered from various nicks and gashes... the
room hadn't fared any better as the walls and the floor were marred
by a cross-hatch of hacks and slashes.
<That stance... that stupid invisibility trick... that
technique... even that wrinkled old face of his! I know that man!>
Yahiko thought as he looked at his now-visible opponent. "You... you're
the ninja pretending to be a drunken yakuza that attacked me yesterday!"
"Ah... and you were the boy with the impressive sword arm and
downward strike... how's your stomach?" The ninja noted at the makeshift
cloth bandages on Yahiko's abdomen, amused. He then promptly grimaced.
"Out of my way, boy... this is between Battousai and me... a real fight,
not some insipid kendo duel."
"Oh... well, y'see... I can't allow that," Yahiko straightforwardly
said as he fell into his usual kendo stance. "Kenshin has this little
promise he made to himself, never to kill and all... so, in turn, as I
inherited this sakabatou I'm holding right now, I swore he'll never have
to hold another sword again... I'm here to keep that promise."
He gave a sidelong glance at the ex-Hitokiri. "Right, Kenshin?"
Kenshin smiled as he flung the sword away. "Right."
Takae smiled. "Well then... If you stand against me, then I won't
hold back." He winked out of existence again.
<Damn... last time he only used his pure speed and his cloak to
disappear into the shadows... now in his full ninjutsu gear, he's all the
more harder to detect! I can sense his kenki, but somehow he seems to be
spreading it everywhere, so it would seem that he's charging on all
directions, but he's not! What am I going to do?> Yahiko thought,
perturbed. He then glanced at Kenshin as the legendary swordsman looked
at the seemingly empty space of the silent dojo.
An offensive suddenly came upon Yahiko from his blind side. The
young kendo master had a hard time countering as the ninja again used
the maneuver that made it seem like his kunai was coming from all
directions... he could not tell if the various luminous lights were
after-images or the real thing. And, as sudden as the attack came, it
disappeared.
<This is getting me nowhere fast! If I don't figure out the
invisibility trick, I'll get defeated. But I can't even use the
revisal techniques... the ninja just isn't set-up properly like
before.> Yahiko licked his bleeding knuckles. <There has to be a way...
what would Kenshin do in a situation like this?> he considered as he
glanced toward Kenshin's direction again, the former rurouni still not
taking his eyes off the bare space of the dojo.
<I wonder if he's trying to say something about the fight? Or
maybe... dammit... he's just as confused as I am! This ninja isn't
easy to beat,> Yahiko thought as seconds ticked in cadence with his
heartbeats. <His shadow arts are good... fighting him, it's like I'm
sparring with my own shadow!>
Yahiko's eyes widened in realization. <Of course! The answer was so
obvious! Why didn't I think of it before?!>
Just a second later, luminescent lines began crisscrossing in the
corner of Yahiko's eyes. He raised his sakabatou high above his head.
He didn't move an inch as the wind from the furious strikes
ruffled his hair.
A full second past after the last strike glinted in his eyes. His
heart skipped a beat as he held his breath. Spirit, mind and body became
one as for that split second he compulsorily brought the sakabatou down
in full force.
Takae was brought down on his knees, screaming as the sakabatou
imbedded itself deep into his forearm, nearly breaking its bones. A low
thunk was heard as a kunai got stuck onto the wooden dojo floor.
Yahiko wiped the sweat off his brow before speaking. "You tricky
old bastard... the whole 'flurry of kunai' thing was just a sneaky
trap!"
Kenshin smiled wanly. <You've truly matured, Yahiko... you were
able to figure out Takae's tactic on your own. His technique was really
just a trap he used to trick the opponent into defending in the wrong
places, thus making them open and vulnerable. It's like trying to hit
one's own shadow... you can't hurt it, but the same could be said
vice-versa.>
<So... the Praying Mantis Trap was defeated,> Takae thought as he
looked at Yahiko in a new light. "So, you were able to understand the
inner workings of the Toro Soujin? Perhaps all those accolades to
your skill were actually well-deserved... but this story hasn't ended
yet." He then disappeared again.
"Geez, gramps... you never give up, don't you?" Yahiko shouted at
empty air. "First time, you caught me in the gut... second time, you
nicked and cut me... do you really think--" He suddenly swung the hilt
of the reverse-edged sword at a very surprised Takae, its end going
deep into the ninja's right eye. "That there'll be a third time?!"
The old man fell as he clutched his newly formed black eye.
"How were you able to figure out my Minamo Gakure invisibility
technique?" Takae said, more in wonder than in bitterness.
"Figure it out? I never did. You were always able to fool me with
that. It was just plainly obvious that, in your agitated state, you'd
attack me immediately after being defeated... let's just say you
defeated yourself more soundly than I ever could," Yahiko said
heedlessly as the old ninja fell silent.
"Feh... to think, you even had the gall to challenge Kenshin,
who's in an entirely different level than me? You old coot! Before you
even consider challenging him, you better get through the second
greatest samurai in all of Japan first!" Yahiko ranted, thumb-pointing
at himself proudly.
"Oro?" Kenshin sweatdropped. <Oh well... no matter how mature he
may appear at times... boys will be boys, I guess,> he thought to
himself amusedly.
A scream was heard from the Kamiya dojo's courtyard. Both Meiji
patriot and Tokyo Samurai descendant hurried outside, a feeling of
apprehension eating at their hearts.
***
Kenji repeatedly kicked, punched and bit the bad man aiming the
strange toy at his mama, calling her names. The toddler forcibly
ripped the man's matted hair, acting on pure instinct... his mama was
somehow in trouble and he had to protect her from the bad, ugly man.
"OW! You little fucker! I'll get you and your whorish mother,
you...."
"Don't talk to my son like that. And never call my wife a whore,"
an icy voice that seemed to come from the darkest pits of Hades seethed,
sending chills into Gasuke's spine.
"Battousai... how nice of you to drop by." He grinned as suddenly
grasped a hidden blade from one of his pockets. He held the child at his
side, knife on the tot's neck, while still holding his loaded pistol on
his other hand. "Don't you dare move."
"KENJI!" Kaoru was in near hysterics as Kenshin held her back.
"Gasuke, you're still a fucking bastard! Let go of the kid!"
Yahiko demanded, threateningly pointing the sakabatou at the gangster
boss's direction, his scratched knuckles turning white in rage.
"You still owe me one with that stupid backhand bludgeoning thing
you did a while back... but it'd seem that I'll have to take a rain check
on that, seeing that my worthless army are... out-of-sorts right now, so
to speak," Gasuke said rather glibly. "I'll just have to settle with
this... Battousai! Get out in the open, hands on the back of your
head... afterwards I want to see your back turned! And no funny stuff!
Move it!"
"You don't actually believe we'd fall for...." Yahiko's eyes
suddenly widened like saucers as Kenshin complied to Gasuke's command.
"Kenshin, are you nuts?! He'll kill Kenji no matter what! Don't do it!
There's another way!"
"If I could somehow buy Kenji a few more seconds, then perhaps
there'll be an off-chance that he'll get saved. I won't hesitate in
offering my life for him."
"Kenshin, no!" Kaoru said, torn between Kenji and Kenshin's life,
not knowing what to think, what to do, what to say. She suddenly felt
faint as Kenshin's visage suddenly disappeared in a salty, watery
blur.
Yahiko cursed. <Dammit. Dammit. Dammitdammitdammitdammit....>
A familiar feeling of helplessness flowed into Yahiko's inner being.
<Even after all this time... even after everything I've done... I'm
still not strong enough. Again, Gasuke's making my life into a
living hell, and I couldn't do shit about it. Dammit. DAMMIT!>
"That's it, Battousai... that's it. Now don't move an inch, or
else my other hand might 'accidentally' slit your son's neck in
surprise. This is a delicate procedure." He laughed maniacally, a glint
of lunacy in his eyes as his face contorted into utter insanity. "I've
been waiting for this moment for so long... DIE, BATTOUSAI!!!"
The shot was fired.
A kunai suddenly imbedded itself deep into Gasuke's shoulder,
making him drop his pocket knife along with a very shell-shocked
Kenji.
Takae fell into a bloody heap as his upper vest was painted red
with his own blood.
Gasuke howled an animal-like cry. "You stupid fool! You ruined
everything!" He looked maniacally at the petrified Kenji. "Oh well...
time to cut my losses." He extracted the dagger from his shoulder
casually and lunged.
"Gasuke, you asshole!" Yahiko shouted as he caught his former
employer's Hitokiri by the hand and twisted. The hoodlum leader yowled
in pain. "If you dare touch one hair on Kenji, I'll make you suck off
that pistol of yours until it shoots off lead in your mouth."
"Tough talk from the boy of a no-life loser and a sickly whore!"
Gasuke screamed. Relying solely on the strength of his desperation, he
forcibly twisted his hand back as he struck Yahiko in the gut with his
other fist. The teenager recoiled from the blow as an earlier wound
reopened, the sakabatou clattering on the stone floor a good distance
away.
"You never had any right to be anything other than our property...
we own your life! And now I'm taking it back!" Gasuke said, all sanity
finally leaving him as he held the kunai with both hands over Yahiko.
Yahiko ignored the searing pain in his gut as he refocused his
vision... as he willed himself to concentrate on the visage of the
monster before him.
Yahiko crossed his wrists as the dagger just nearly plunged into
his eye. "Defense succession technique Hadome!"
He then twisted his wrists, pulling the weapon out of Gasuke's
grip and throwing him on the ground, all in one swift movement.
"Attack succession technique Hawatari," he gravely said at Gasuke's
fallen form. He then picked up his sakabatou... his grip tightening
as childhood memories of Gasuke's constant abuse resurfaced all at
once, threatening to drown his own sanity. He then looked at Takae's
still unmoving body.
Yahiko screamed... almost as maniacally as Gasuke did... raising
the sakabattou over the yakuza's head. Gasuke looked up once... and as
realization struck his features, beads of sweat began to flow freely
upon his fear-contorted face.
Dirt and rock pelted Gasuke's face painfully as the sakabatou
missed his head by mere inches. Yahiko drew ragged breaths as he idly
wondered what it would have been like to use the revisal technique on
someone's skull. A hand unexpectedly gripped his shoulder firmly.
"It's over, Yahiko... don't mar the beauty of that downward strike
with the blood of an opponent," Kenshin said as he ruffled Yahiko's
hair.
"Oi, Kenshin... I'm not a little boy anymore," Yahiko complained,
heaving a sigh of relief nonetheless.
"Oh baby! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Mama is so sorry!" Kaoru
cried as she rushed toward Kenji's side. Kenji, upon feeling Kaoru's
warm embrace, bawled ceaselessly.
An urgent thought entered Yahiko's head. "Kenshin! The old ninja...
will he make it?"
Kenshin shook his head. "He already lost a lot of blood... and it's
a fatal wound. If Megumi were here, he might have had a chance, but
now...."
Yahiko was instantly beside the old man. "Oi... old man! Old man!
Don't go dying on me now! I fought with you... and it was a goddamn good
fight, too! You owe me a rematch, gramps!" Yahiko prodded, ignoring the
familiar pang he felt at being so helpless. "You were so stubborn during
the fight... where's that stubbornness now, eh? Gramps!?"
Takae looked at Yahiko with sightless, glassy eyes. "Oi... I have a
name, you know."
"Eh?"
"It's Takae Masahiro... of the Takae ninja clan," Takae stated,
his once dark and smooth voice now marred with an increasing hoarseness
in his throat.
"Why are you telling me all this?" Yahiko said, his demeanor
becoming more subdued and calm. "You didn't even bother telling me your
name when we fought."
The old man smirked. "I'm a ninja... I'm not supposed to just give
out my name like that." He closed his eyes. "I believe that you've
deserved it."
Yahiko didn't know what to say after that as he stared in the
pool of blood in increasing alarm. "Old man...!"
Takae coughed violently. "I suppose that'll do, given we can't
exactly be on a first name basis." He guffawed humorlessly. "I would
rather have had a Warrior's Death, but dying in a manner more
reminiscent of the gentler Battousai would suffice. I have no regrets,
boy. The Takae clan's ninjutsu dies with me... and I'm...glad... its
legacy... ended... on such a... note."
Yahiko rubbed his eyes hard before closing the old man's
unseeing eyes.
"Yahiko-kun?"
Yahiko looked up, his eyes reddened and his vision a bit blurred...
but the voice, the scent, the silhouette in his hazy vision... they
were all unmistakably clear in his head.
"Tsubame--?" Yahiko started before he was suddenly overwhelmed by
a crying girl's embrace. Words were not needed anymore.
***
"I don't understand why you still want to go through with this...
you said you were going to skip out of town three days ago, but you came
back anyway... if you're still this undecided, then it's better to spend
a little more time here than jumping haphazardly into something, right?"
Kaoru reasoned, as she poured herself another cup of tea.
Yahiko growled audibly. "You didn't read the letter right. I said
I was gonna go soon, but I never said anything about going that very
day!"
It had been three days since the Yakuza incident... Chief Uramura,
being practically a close family friend and all, had personally taken
care of the situation. Gasuke was now safely behind prison bars where he
belonged, and the mysterious man known as Masahiro Takae was given the
proper funeral ceremony he deserved. His cremated remains were given to
his remaining known family members.
"It's not my fault that your writing is so atrocious," Kaoru
scoffed as she calmly sipped her tea.
"It's your fault because you were the one who taught me in the
first place, you old hag!" Yahiko countered heatedly.
"Don't call mama an ol' hag, o' else I beat you up like bad man!"
Kenji said as threateningly as possible to Yahiko, stretching his big
brother's mouth to various proportions.
"Oh, I'm so touched, Kenji! Did you see that, Kenshin? Kenji's
protecting his dear, sweet mother's honor!" Kaoru snuggled against her
Kenji as the little tot giggled.
Yahiko grumbled inaudibly.
"So what are your plans now... do you need any monetary support
of some sort?" Kenshin asked.
Yahiko shrugged. "I figured if you were able to survive on your
own with little more than a sword and a tattered hakama for ten years,
I should be able to fare better. Besides, I still got some cash from
working at the Akabeko, so money's no object."
Kenji looked at Yahiko very seriously as he offered his pinky
finger. "You p'womise you come back?"
Yahiko smiled wanly as he curled his own pinky over the tot's.
"Yep. And remember... big brother doesn't break promises!"
"Yay!" Kenji cheered.
Kaoru turned toward Yahiko and did the unexpected... she kissed him
on the forehead. "Now don't be a stranger, eh? Write back as soon as you
get to... wherever it is you're supposed to go."
A stray memory of his mother kissing him on the forehead the very
same way Kaoru did entered Yahiko's mind. He shook his head once before
responding. "Uh... yeah. I checked with the post office. As soon as I
find the time and the money to buy the paper and ink, I'll write."
Kaoru smiled. "That's all I needed to know. Have a safe trip,
Yahiko."
Yahiko then turned to Kenshin. Smiling, he offered his hand to
Kenshin the same way Sanosuke did all those years ago. They clasped
hands briefly.
"I'm off," Yahiko said.
"Right," Kenshin said.
And so the wannabe vagabond made his way outside the Kamiya Dojo's
gates, in search of his own manhood... his own independence... his
own coming of age.
That was until said journey of manhood, independence and coming of
age came to a screeching halt just outside the Kamiya Dojo's gates.
"Did I startle you?" Tsubame said apologetically... as opposed to
her usual outright apologies which was, to Yahiko's distaste, a bit
too profuse.
"Ah... no... I'm just surprised that you came here," Yahiko said,
rubbing the back of his head. "What _are_ you doing here? I promised
you that, no matter what, I'm still going to meet you at the Akabeko
first before I left, didn't I?"
"I... I just wanted to give you this... before you go," Tsubame
shyly said.
"A... red string?" Yahiko blinked confusedly as he took the
peculiar gift. "Thanks... I think."
Tsubame blushed hard as she took the red string back and kneeled
down.
"EH?!" Yahiko exclaimed. "Tsubame, what are you...?"
The youth went silent as the teenaged girl began tying the string
tightly on his sandals. <It's just like the first time we met...
Tsubame-chan....>
Tsubame smiled as she got up. "It's so you'll never forget,
Yahiko-kun. I hope you find what you're looking for and have a safe
trip!" she said optimistically.
Yahiko smiled as well, turning quickly lest he risk letting Tsubame
see his own blush. He then gave a sidelong glance at her. "Tsubame."
"Yes?" Tsubame said as her heart skipped a beat... a familiar
anxiety in her... but this time it was a welcome nervousness.
"The address I got from the post office was the Akabeko's instead
of the Kamiya Dojo. I'm entrusting you the task of getting the letters
delivered to Kenshin, Kaoru and Kenji. Bye."
"B-but why would you do that if it would be easier to--" her words
were cut off as Yahiko looked at her with clear brown eyes which
spoke volumes.
Tsubame nodded once at Yahiko, putting up a contemplative yet
cheerful face. "Thank you."
And there was again no need for words as a girl gazed at the
retreating figure of a boy. It was already simplicity itself.
Spring had finally arrived, continuing the never-ending cycle.
***
Next: A village, a maiden and a neophyte vagabond.
Wow. I was really meaning to write this for a long time... I
even had an entire mock-up and all prepared for it... I'm kind
of glad I wrote it too. And even though this is going to be
more of an action-oriented fic, there will be a bit of space for
romance, drama and the occasional comedic moment. A note of
dedication goes to MadamHydra for inspiring me to make this
fic... her own "That Which Lingers" is somewhat an influence
in this endeavor of mine.
Disclaimer: All characters used in this fanfic (save some others)
are the rightful property of Nobuhiro Watsuki and Sony.
Don't sue me please, I'm very poor.
Ja ne!
C. Casta�eda
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