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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
http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=1280855
http://www26.brinkster.com/callie/

A fight between two counterparts.

A few more notes before proceeding:

< > indicates character thoughts
" " indicates character speech


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Chapter 4: The Two Prodigies
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     Soujiro Seta smiled pleasantly at Yahiko Myoujin, bowing as if he 
was politely addressing an old friend. "I'm really sorry for the mess. 
What a dreadful thing to happen... a dreadful thing. Well, I don't mean
to be rude, but I have to get going."

     "The HELL you will!" Yahiko shouted out as began unwrapping the
cloth-bound sakabatou, waking an apparently shocked and surprised Kyoko 
Sakaguchi out of her reverie. "You have a lot of explaining to do, 
psycho-kid!" 
 
     "Oh? I'm not a psycho-kid," Soujiro said, blinking at Yahiko's 
statement. He then beamed, laughing daintily. "That's really silly. 
I'm already twenty-two. I'm not a kid anymore." 

     <Which means he didn't deny the 'psycho' part at all?> Yahiko
thought incredulously, making him pause from completely unsheathing 
his sword at mid-draw. He then sweatdropped as the supposed twenty-two
year old clasped both of his hands together in apparent enthusiasm.

     "I almost forgot to ask! What's your name?" Soujiro queried 
pleasantly.

     "Uh... Yahiko... Myoujin Yahiko--" Yahiko then blinked. 

     "Oi! Stop that!" the Tokyo Samurai progeny demanded as Kyoko mutely
looked at the two swordsmen back and forth, unwilling to interrupt their 
discussion. 

     <It's weird to see two relative strangers act so familiarly with
each other. Is this anything like what grandfather said to me about the 
mutual feeling of brotherhood between all swordsmen?> Kyoko wondered to 
herself.

     "Stop what, Yahiko-san?" Soujiro confusedly blinked at the youth, 
his eyes inquisitive and innocent.

     Yahiko winced at the expression Soujiro made... it reminded him of
Kenji whenever the little boy sucked up to Kaoru... he certainly didn't 
like seeing it on the face of a weird stranger. He also didn't quite 
like the sound of 'Yahiko-san' coming from the mouth of a psychopath.

     "I meant, 'Stop your little mind games!' Enough with the 'I'm an 
innocent, wandering swordsman that wouldn't hurt a fly' act! I've already 
seen someone do that act, and quite frankly, I'm not falling for it 
anymore! You can't fool me so easily!" 

     <He had already seen someone do that act?> Soujiro mused to 
himself. To Yahiko, he said, "I see." 

     Soujiro didn't look at all nonplussed as Yahiko finally brandished 
his sword. He gave the sixteen year old a clear, steady look. "I'm truly 
sorry, but this isn't an act... I really have no intention of staying. 
There's nothing of interest for me here."

     Soujiro gave Yahiko a sidelong glance as he left. "See you later, 
Yahiko-san."

     The spiked-haired youth just stood there in shock and silence for
a couple of minutes as the ever-smiling young man made his way to the 
egress of the bamboo forest. The young Myoujin then repeated his 
earlier statement... a statement that explained concisely what he was 
about to do.

     "The hell you will," he whispered as he charged Soujiro with a
jumping strike.

     


***

 


     Soujiro looked like he was a little over just being puzzled as he 
turned to face the charging Yahiko. But the hand on the hilt of his 
sword didn't even have an inkling of hesitation as it executed a 
reflexive battou-jutsu strike.

     A reverberating clang was heard from the two swords. 
       
     Yahiko seemed to have arrested his downward descent as he spoke, 
declaring, "I, Myoujin Yahiko, acting master of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu, 
challenge--"

     Yahiko paused in mid-sentence as he saw the chilly smile on 
Soujiro's cherubic face. His eyes then went wide as he suddenly found
himself unceremoniously pushed back a couple of feet away by the older 
boy with just a simple flick of the sword.

     Yahiko tried the catch up with his breath as he recovered from the 
recoil of Soujiro's counterattack. <Incredible... with just one 
movement, he was able to push me away like an empty wicker basket,> he 
assessed as he backed a few more steps away from the jovial swordsman. 
<He was also able to block my two-handed sword strike with just a 
one-handed counter.>

     Yahiko put himself into his usual kendo stance again, eyeing his 
opponent warily. <Speed and power combined... who is this psycho-kid?>
He glanced at his back as he heard a feminine gasp of shock. 

     Kyoko's eyes shimmered as she just stood there, her agape mouth 
covered by a trembling hand. "Seta-kun," she whispered softly.

     Yahiko turned his attention back to the situation at hand as his
opponent suddenly addressed him, stating, "I admit, it was a skillful 
strike and your form was impeccable. Your kenjutsu is quite good."

     The chilly smile Yahiko saw on Soujiro's face a while ago returned 
as the cheerful young man calmly casually put his blade on his shoulder.
"But you seem to misunderstand one thing, Yahiko-san."

     "Eh?" Yahiko exclaimed cagily. "What are you talking about,
psycho-kid?"

     "I will give you a demonstration to show the difference between the 
two of us." Soujiro nodded to himself astutely, adding, "I will show you 
the difference between you and me."




***




     Yahiko painfully clutched his stomach as he struggled to keep
himself standing though his legs were feeling as wobbly as tofu. <What 
the hell just happened? One minute I was just talking to psycho-kid, 
the next....> He gave the subject of his meandering a glare, even though 
it looked more like a pained wince.

     The Acting Master of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu cursed under a ragged 
breath, flinching at the blurry image of Soujiro Seta before him, 
standing there all 'smiley-smiley' and some such. He was beginning to 
really hate that smile.  

     <Dammit. How did he... get me?> Yahiko incredulously thought as he 
desperately tried to recall what had just occurred the last few seconds.




***




     A shout. Yahiko definitely remembered a shout... a shout of wonder,
gleefulness and juvenility curiously laced with undertones of murderous
intent... the shout's description clearly matched the apparition from 
which it came from.

     "I accept your challenge, Myoujin Yahiko of the Kamiya Kasshin 
Ryu!" the apparition chimed through deceptively angelic tones.

     Apparition... it was an apt description for the 'psycho-kid' as he
suddenly charged at Yahiko... he was just like a specter, a phantom of 
some sort... it certainly was the case as he disappeared midway in his 
dash like a ghost.

     He also remembered the sound of rapid beatings on the ground... it 
was like the buzz of a large dragonfly's flapping wings when it neared 
one's ear. 

     Yahiko had idly wondered at the time if Soujiro's technique was 
anything like Takae's invisibility trick. 

     It wasn't.

     It wasn't like anything he had ever seen before. It was 
different... completely different. Those were the thoughts in Yahiko's 
head as he skidded away from the recoil of Soujiro's first strike.




***




     <I can't breathe...> Yahiko thought, panicked. He gradually calmed 
down as he gulped large amounts of air in deep breaths. <Damn... I 
wasn't even able to lay one strike on him!> he thought, frustrated.
<It looks like... I'm outclassed.>

     The spiky-haired boy furthered his contemplations despite the nasty 
cough he developed after accidentally choking on his spit while wheezing. 
<If it wasn't like Takae's technique, then there's only one other 
explanation for his sudden disappearance at mid-charge... speed. It was 
his speed...his incredible, pure speed... that made it possible. Could 
it be that he was even faster than...?>

     Yahiko shook his head vehemently as if to clear it. <No... that
can't be right... but still, this Soujiro guy...> the young man 
ddeliberated in his head as he struggled to put his thoughts into order. 
<Unless I'm finally going out of my mind, the speed that psycho-kid used 
was even faster than Kenshin's divine speed!> 

     He breathed with a bit of difficulty as he regarded his cheerful 
opponent cautiously. <No way. Nobody can beat Kenshin's speed. That's 
just stupid thoughts running in my head. But still, it's quite obvious
that his sword skill is better than mine. There is no comparison. He's 
at the very least within Kenshin's skill level. Oh man...what have I 
gotten myself into? I might have bitten-off more than I could chew.> 

     Yahiko gripped his abdomen. Soujiro had struck him just a little 
above the midsection...  the same place where Takae had nearly gutted 
him just a few weeks ago. His midriff flared in remembrance of pain...
a memory of a stinging warmth.  

     But it was only a remembrance and a memory.    

     <Wait a second...> Yahiko thought, trailing-off as he checked his
abdomen... sure enough, there wasn't a tear, a slice nor a cut on it, 
just a bruise and a vague, passing feeling of having the wind knocked 
out of him. He then trembled in barely-contained anger.  

     "Oi... psycho-kid." 

     "Oh... you're still standing?" Soujiro simply stated, as if he had 
just noticed Yahiko's presence. "You're a very tenacious individual, 
Yahiko-san."

     "You're not _deliberately_ making fun of me, are you?" Yahiko 
asked in an annoyed tone. 

     "What do you mean?" Soujiro obliviously queried in return.

     "You flipped your blade when you struck me," Yahiko said simply,
as if merely stating a fact, but his eyes contrastingly glinted of 
annoyance and enmity. "I resent that. I hate it when people hold back 
and underestimate me!"

     "Please don't misunderstand, Yahiko-san... I have no quarrel with 
you. The earlier attack was just a warning. Please don't involve
yourself or Kyoko-san in this situation," Soujiro honestly said, his 
eyes clear and cloudless. 

     Yahiko struggled a bit as he straightened himself out from his 
slouching position, using the embedded sakabatou as a supportive 
counterweight. "Yeah? Well, you should have thought about that before 
you murdered all those--"

     The sixteen year old blinked at Soujiro as his jovial opponent 
began eyeing his reverse-edged sword strangely. "Um... what are you
looking at?"

     Soujiro actually walked closer towards Yahiko to give the sword a
closer inspection. <How curious... why is the reverse side of his sword
embedded in a bamboo stalk? Could it be...?> 
     
     A mysterious smile escaped Soujiro's lips. <Is that sword he's 
holding the sakabatou? Himura-san's reverse-edged sword?> The 
emotionally-bereft young man rubbed his chin thoughtfully as his mind
drifted to another plain of existence.




***




     <Surely it could be no other than the sakabatou. There's only one 
left... especially since I destroyed the original,> Soujiro deliberated
to himself as he blissfully reminisced.

     The twenty-two year old studied the novice wanderer at the corner 
of his eye, giggling as he felt the young lad tremble in irritation and 
fury. <Well-trained, but he still acts a lot like a child. Hm... too 
bad I can't relate much to that, since I never had the chance to 
experience any sort of childhood since I was eight years old...> he 
mused. 
 
     <Who is this Myoujin Yahiko? Why does he carry Himura-san's prized 
sakabatou?> Soujiro briefly and absentmindedly reflected before his 
familiarly beatific smile reappeared on his face. <Interesting... how 
very interesting indeed.>




***




     "Hey! Stop that! You're freaking me out!" Yahiko yelped. He then
narrowed his eyes as he muttered, "Oi."

     Grasping the hilt of the sakabatou tightly, Yahiko unceremoniously
dislodged his sword from the bamboo stalk, swinging it deliberately 
towards Soujiro's smiling face. 

     "Don't ignore you opponent while still in combat! This isn't..." 
was what Yahiko said before he trailed-off as he realized that he had
just swung the sakabatou through thin air. "What the...? Where'd he 
go?" 

     "I'm sorry to say, but your sword slash just now could have been 
executed better, Yahiko-san," Soujiro said matter-of-factly seconds 
later as he stood a good six feet away from Yahiko. "It kind of 
disappointed me, I'm afraid... especially after comparing it to the 
strength of your earlier attack just moments ago."

     "Shut up! Nobody asked you!" Yahiko said, seething. <Dammit... he
evaded my strike? Even with his face so close to my sword?>

     Yahiko then idly wondered just _why_ the young man was studying his 
sakabatou so intently. <Man, that really freaked me out... what's up 
with that?> The teenager shuddered at the thought.

     "How old are you?"

     Yahiko blinked several times before the question registered in 
his head. "Um... I just turned sixteen... hey! You're doing one of those 
mind games of yours again!"

     Soujiro merely nodded in response before he returned to his 
meanderings.

     "Seta-kun... why...?" Yahiko heard Kyoko say. As he glanced over 
the girl's direction, it was clear that she was still in shock, cradling 
her grandfather's sword like a newborn babe. 

     Yahiko sighed as he again focused his gaze on his enemy. It was 
clear at this point that Soujiro was again deep in apparent 
contemplation, smiling carelessly and ceaselessly. <Damn, does he have 
_any_ other expression on his face other than 'happy' and 'happier'?!> 

     Yahiko could have attacked Soujiro again then and there in the
cheerful boy's contemplative state. <What a weirdo.> But after seeing 
the result of his earlier assault, he decided to keep his guard up 
instead. <He's an incredible swordsman, but a weirdo nonetheless.>




***




     Soujiro felt... strange. There was no other word for it... strange. 

     Here he was, standing before a complete stranger that had... 
affected him somehow. Mentally. Emotionally. Well, certainly not
physically, but he digressed.

     It was most probably caused by his curious emotive reaction to the 
reverse-edged sword the young boy was carrying... the sakabatou... 
Kenshin Himura's sakabatou.

     It was the sword that had changed his life forever. No... Makoto
Shishio's wakizashi supposedly changed his life as well, but after the 
conflict with the Battousai, he had learned that no tangible little 
thing could change a life forever. Mere objects didn't have as much 
impact as major events and great people did. Life, on the other hand, 
was always changing, always dynamic, composed of many little changes... 
it could never be stagnant. 

     He shouldn't blame a sword for his moment of hesitation and...
weakness. <Weakness... such a loaded word.> It was probably the 
nostalgic feeling he had in himself that was causing him to be... like 
this.  

      <My, my... I'm thinking weird thoughts again,> Soujiro thought, 
chuckling.

     Memories began flooding Soujiro's mind like water through a 
broken dam. It was a dam that was never repaired, just mostly ignored 
until the next torrential downpour confirmed its existence. 

     It was a dam broken years ago by a battle with a man who would 
have protected him, had he only been there. 

     <Another silly thought.>

     So the reminiscences continued to deluge in his mind, the heavy
torrent in his psyche unforgiving and merciless. 

     First, there were the memories he had of an old colleague. He was 
a strange, bat-winged equipped, thinly-built man... the explosives 
expert of the Juppon Gatana... Soaring Henya of the Ten Swords. 

     Soujiro repetitively and deliberately made passing mentions and 
subtle inquiries to Henya concerning his defeat in Aoiya whenever they 
had a chance to meet and... reminisce. 

     A resounding humph was the only response he ever got from his 
fellow former Juppon Gatana member concerning the delicate topic.

     <Although I've met with him a couple of times more, Henya-san was 
still tight-lipped about the subject for some strange reason... but he 
did mention something about a flying door and a lucky shot.> Soujiro
giggled at the thought... but his mirth was soon replaced by seriousness
hidden in a delighted smile.

     <Hm... according to the intelligence reports that Houji-san related
to Shishio-san and me six years ago...>
     
     "Four women, only two grown men, an old man and a child will 
be present in Aoiya as of tomorrow morning," Houji Sadojima of the 
Hundred Sense had stated smugly during the time the attack on Aoiya was 
still being planned. "They're the only resistance the Juppon Gatana will
meet in Aoiya. How can we not win?"

     <Hm... he had mentioned a child... could it be...?>

     "The attack on the Aoiya has failed. Iwanbou has fled, and Henya, 
Kamatari, Fuji and Saitsuchi have been arrested..." a more enraged and
disheveled version of Houji said in Soujiro's nostalgic reverie. "Why!?
They even had a giant with them! How could we fail? Why were they 
defeated?"

     Then, there were Shishio's words.

     "They were stronger than us. That's the simple truth."

     Afterwards, there were his own words. 

     "After all, in this world the flesh of the weak is the food of 
the strong. The strong live, the weak die. But it's okay. I'm strong, 
so I can do the work of all of the Juppon Gatana, can't I?" 

     <Strength... another loaded word.>

     He deliberately glazed over the events following that conversation.
It was an incident that he had already replayed in his mind over and 
over. He felt no need to linger on that particular memory.

     <Time to turn my contemplations back to the situation at hand.>

     Slowly... surely... Soujiro focused his attention to the boy 
holding Battousai's sword. <Could it be? Could it be that the little 
boy in Aoiya and this young man before me is one and the same? Hm... if 
I'm guessing correctly, this young man was able to defeat a member of 
the Juppon Gatana... probably Henya... when he was only a mere child. 
Then there's the little fact concerning his current possession of 
Himura-san's sakabatou.>

     Soujiro's heartbeat began to slowly rise. <He just turned 
sixteen... so six years ago, during the attack on Aoiya, he was merely a
ten year old boy... I was still a pathetic little stripling under 
Shishio-san's protective wing when I was about that age.> His smile 
slowly grew.

     <He was just ten years old... and yet this mere boy was able to 
defeat one of Shishio-san's premiere fighters at the very same age.> 
The ever-smiling young man's heartbeat began to beat even faster. <I 
want to see what he's truly capable of, this Myoujin Yahiko.> 




***




     "Myoujin Yahiko-san of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu," Soujiro suddenly 
and smilingly addressed as his eyes quickly focused on his surroundings
and on his immediate opponent. 

     "Feh. That's my name, don't wear it out," Yahiko rejoined 
gruffly, tensing himself for battle. <This guy's as unpredictable as
they get. What's he planning now?> 

     Soujiro looked at Yahiko jubilantly, a curious glint in the
amused young man's eyes. "To tell you the truth... I feel a bit 
excited about this duel of ours," he said to the dumbstruck kendoist.

     "'Duel', eh? For a while there, I thought you didn't want to 
fight," Yahiko said as he fell into his usual kendo stance. "But it 
seems that your killer instincts have reemerged again. Well, after I'm 
done with you, you still have a lot of explaining to do concerning what 
happened to all those men."

     <Why? Why is Seta-kun acting so strangely?> Kyoko thought as
she cautiously backed away from the two swordsmen who were now squaring 
off on the dusty pathway. <The smile on face right now... I've never 
seen him smile like that. It's a scary smile. Who is this Myoujin 
Yahiko? Why does he affect Seta-kun so much?>

     "Well then... I think a reintroduction is in order," Soujiro
cheered as he daintily clasped his hands in the same manner as before. 

     After letting out a rather colorful curse, Yahiko said, "NO MORE
MIND GAMES! I know who I am and you know who you are. I'm Myoujin 
Yahiko! You're psycho-kid! End of story!"
     
     The eternally amused young man laughed amicably and freely at 
Yahiko's proclamation and expense, to the spiky-haired boy's 
chagrin. Kyoko, on her part, worriedly glanced at her friend's 
current state, undeniable anxiety in her eyes.

     "What's so _funny_?" Yahiko said, taking up the stance and demeanor
reminiscent of one of his former yakuza employer's henchmen in an 
obvious attempt to intimidate his adversary. "You're not making fun of 
me, are you?"
 
     "Not at all, Yahiko-san," Soujiro cooed. "I'm just happy that I'm
about to get a chance to fight Himura-san's prodigy."

     Yahiko's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. "How did you...?"

     Soujiro dramatically pointed his sword at Yahiko, proclaiming, 
"This is the fight between two prodigies... the prodigy of Himura 
Kenshin and the prodigy of Shishio Makoto... I am Seta Soujiro, the 
former Ten Ken of the Juppon Gatana." His eyes glinted maniacally. 
"Prepare yourself, Myoujin Yahiko of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu!"  
    



***




     <The Heaven Sword of the Ten Swords? Shishio Makoto? What the hell
is going on?!> Yahiko mulled over his head as he braced himself, 
expecting the worst. To his opponent, he said, "Bring it on, psycho--"

     A stray bamboo leaf briefly floated into Yahiko's field of vision, 
obscuring his sight for a fraction of a second. 
 
     A fraction of a second... just a fraction of a second was all it 
took. 

     <Feh. He disappeared again... probably due to that quickness 
technique of his,> Yahiko noted. He then desperately tried to relax his
breathing as his eyes darted back and forth. <He's not suddenly rushing 
towards me like before... which probably means that he's serious this 
time, and not just planning some sort of surprise attack as a 'warning' 
and shit.> 

     Yahiko narrowed his eyes as he concentrated. <Dammit, I can't see 
or sense him at all! He's too quick. This is dangerous. I'm a sitting 
duck... I'm completely at his mercy.>

     For some strange and inexplicable reason, Yahiko started to 
visualize a duck in a pond full of dragonflies. <Eh? Dragonflies?>

     The buzz of a large dragonfly's flapping wings suddenly grew louder
in Yahiko's fantasy as it slowly neared his ear.

     It was a buzz that sounded very similar to the slight beatings he
heard on the ground. 

     <That's right!>

     Yahiko looked at the ground... sure enough, small gushes were 
forming on its rocky surface, lined up together in two parallel rows. 
The sounds slowly grew as time passed, the zigzagging path of the gushes 
clearly heading towards his direction.

     <These gushes are the only sign that he's still here... gushes 
coming from his quick and rapid footwork!> Yahiko determinedly lifted 
his sword as the sounds of the gushes neared, becoming just slightly 
strident than before. <Then I'll use those flitting footsteps to find 
him!>

     "Imitation Technique... Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, Ryu Tsui Sen!" Yahiko
shouted out as he made a quick and small leap toward the furious trail, 
his sword ready to strike down his rapidly approaching invisible 
opponent. 

     Yahiko's mouth went agape as his sakabatou smashed itself on the 
ground, pelting rock and debris... going through thin air. He then felt 
a chill on the back of his neck as he heard a familiar girlish giggle 
from behind him. 

     "I'm afraid to say that your idea to follow the gushes from my 
footsteps," Soujiro started to say as Yahiko shuddered in a combination 
of shock and fear, "was a _bad_ one."

     <The speed... the speed he used now was different from before.
Frighteningly different.> Yahiko gulped, still having his back turned 
on his opponent as time seemed to slow for the teenaged boy. <So... he 
held back? Not just his sword strike, but his speed as well?> 

      Without any warning or ceremony, Yahiko suddenly felt a sharp, 
mindless pain stab through the very depths of his psyche as Soujiro 
punctured his shoulder. He only had one thought in his mind as he 
yowled a horrid screech that cut through the very heart of his soul.

      <Oh my God! He's not holding back this time!>




***




     Yahiko tried... he desperately tried... but he just couldn't 
measure up... not at all. <With all that pure speed and skill, he's not 
just within Kenshin's level... he's Kenshin's match!> Tears burned 
through the teenager's closed eyes. <He's definitely out of my league...
Shishio's right hand man, Seta Soujiro.>

     "IYAAAAA!! Stop it! Seta-kun, please stop!" Kyoko screamed in the 
background, but to Yahiko those screams sounded like they were miles 
away from him as his body slowly became numb. 

     <He's strong. He's very strong.> Yahiko struggled for breath as the
sharp pain on his shoulder had a curious lethargic effect on him. <At 
this rate, only Kenshin could stop him.> From the fading panic that 
pierced through his drowsiness, Yahiko was able to grimly reflect in 
his quickly fading awareness, <But Kenshin's not here.> 

     Fear. He felt fear. He felt afraid and vulnerable at that one 
moment... the moment which he feared the most. It was a moment of 
weakness which he was ashamed to admit even to himself. 

     The moment where he'd be helpless and Kenshin wasn't there to
save him. That was his greatest fear.
  
     <That speed...>

     Kenshin wasn't there to counter it.

     <That power...>

     Kenshin wasn't there to counter it.

     <I'm scared.>

     Kenshin wasn't there.

     <I'm so scared.>

     Kenshin wasn't there.

     So there he was, bleeding... dying... powerless and defenseless.
He wanted so desperately to become strong... but now all of that was for
naught. 

     <How mortifying.>

     Because he, Myoujin Yahiko, son of a Tokyo Samurai, had just 
revealed to himself how much of a coward he really was. 




***




     <Hm... it seems that for a moment there I became a bit... 
overexcited,> Soujiro sheepishly noted to himself as he flicked the
blood off of his sword. <I didn't even notice that I had used the true 
Shukuchi until it was too late. I should have instead utilized the 
Shukuchi with three steps done beforehand like in my first attack... I 
practically overwhelmed the poor boy.>

     The former Ten Ken of the Juppon Gatana stared at the 
wretched-looking Yahiko with pity in his eyes. He smilingly sighed. 
<Using my true speed against a weaker opponent... how irresponsible 
of me.> 

     He pouted just a little bit as he saw the glistening tears in 
the Tokyo Samurai descendant's eyes. <The willingness to fight has 
already left his eyes... it has become the eyes of an innocent bystander 
amidst the presence of a murderer.> 

     Soujiro then felt a near-imperceptible flicker of unease as he 
heard Yahiko sob and grovel on the ground. 

     Yahiko grasped his bleeding wound as he apprehensively inched away 
from the older boy. The messy-haired teenager then held his sakabatou 
in front of him like it was some sort of shield as he inclined his 
bloodied back against a wall of bamboo stalks. 

     <How disappointing.> 

     The everlastingly polite young man sheathed his sword, sighing in
defeat, even though in actuality the opposite was true. <My thoughts 
about this boy and his skill... I feel that I had expected too much from
him. It seems that I had overestimated this Myoujin Yahiko.> He looked 
around, nodding to himself. <I guess it's finally time for me to go.> 

     "Seta-kun! Seta-kun! Please wait!" an insistent feminine voice
urgently pleaded. The subject of the summons gave no heed to it until he 
heard the demanding and uncharacteristic shout of, "Seta Soujiro!"

     "Kyoko-san?" Soujiro said uncertainly as he blinked in surprise. He 
didn't expect his usually acquiescent acquaintance to be so... 
vehement and impolite.
     
     "I'm sorry," Kyoko said, apologizing for her supposed earlier 
rudeness. "I was trying to call your attention, but you ignored me." She
then slipped her grandfather's Fuyutsuki under her cloth belt. "As I was
trying to say before... I'm afraid that I cannot let you leave."

     Soujiro had a half-puzzled, half-pensive expression on his smiling 
face as he looked at his female friend in peculiar silence, without a 
word of protest nor complaint escaping his lips.

     Kyoko, though looking visibly agitated, still continued through 
subdued tones, "I am here to fight."




***




     "I'm here to fight."

     Upon hearing the silly statement, Soujiro felt a bit awkward. <How 
could she say that with such fear in her voice? It seems that she's 
even more afraid to fight than Yahiko-san is... it's just that she's 
more polite about it.> He'd laugh, but that was very impolite thing for
a friend to do to an obviously sensitive companion. 

     "F-for the sake of lives you've taken... and for the b-boy's sake 
as well..." Kyoko trailed-off through a voice that was choked with 
emotion. She visibly shook as she went into battou-jutsu stance, her 
hand trembling helplessly at the hilt of her grandfather's sword. 

     <Please... stop shaking!> Kyoko mentally pleaded to her hands 
before she willed herself to continue. "F-For all their sakes... I have 
chosen to fight. I am Sakaguchi Kyoko of the Musou Madden Ryu. Please 
prepare yourself, Seta-kun." 

     Soujiro couldn't help himself this time as he daintily laughed. He 
then made an apologetic chopping motion with his right hand. "I'm sorry. 
I didn't mean to laugh, but it's quite obvious that you don't want to 
fight. You're panicked and afraid... you yourself know this. Please 
don't be so hard on yourself... you don't have to get involved. Go home 
to Sakaguchi-san and let things be."

     "I will not stand down!" Kyoko exclaimed, surprising even herself
with the forcefulness and intensity of her words. 

     "Oh?" Soujiro asked condescendingly, adding, "And why is that,
Kyoko-san?"

     "B-because...." The double pony-tailed girl seemed at a loss for 
words before she determinedly avowed, "this h-has nothing to do with my 
willingness to fight." She resolutely grasped Fuyutsuki's handle 
tightly, even though her hand still continued to tremble. "I... I only 
do what I have to do. I-I'll be the first one to admit that I am... 
w-weak-hearted, b-but I would like to think that I can be strong when 
the situation deems it necessary." 

     Unnoticed by either of the two affable companions lost in an 
awkward moment of confrontation, a boy's eyes suddenly glinted briefly 
in awareness he heard the girl's impassioned declaration. From 
there, he silently mouthed the powerful words which had cut through the 
haze of his consciousness. 

     "Be... strong?"




***




     Bamboo leaves began raining on the two new soon-to-be combatants
as Kyoko Sakaguchi desperately pushed her waning confidence to the 
limit, lest it suddenly left her completely.

     "A great man once told me that, even though I didn't want to,
I still had to fight for what I believe in... but if I really had to
fight, as much as possible I shouldn't fight just because of a belief."

     Kyoko smiled sadly at Soujiro, which made the young man stand back
in surprise. "He told me to fight for a dream... a goal... a wish." 

     <Kinta-san was a very wise and nice person... just like you, 
Seta-kun,> Kyoko thought as she breathed deeply, bracing herself 
again as she resumed her passionate speech.

     "I'm going to fight you to fulfill that wish, Seta-kun." Seeing
no reaction on Soujiro's part, Kyoko continued, "Mother always did
tease us with her 'boy that always smiles and girl hat never smiles' 
remarks. Didn't we promise to each other that if I'd continue to 
search for the person that would make me smile, you, in turn, would 
continue to search for the person that you could openly cry with? I have 
never forgotten than promise."

      Soujiro nodded absently to what Kyoko was saying, lost in his own 
contemplations.

      "It's a promise to humanize yourself... ourselves, Seta-kun," 
Kyoko said, her eyes shimmering. "It's that promise that has compelled
me to fight. I'm fighting for my wish... my wish for humanity... your 
humanity."

     Soujiro chuckled at that. He then remembered Kyoko's sad smile,
not realizing that the same sad smile was now etched on his face. 

     "Seta-kun... please... say something... tell me why you did it," 
Kyoko pleaded sullenly. "Why did you murder all those people?"

     At last, Soujiro spoke. "I am afraid... I am not clean enough to
deserve such redemption." 

     Kyoko nodded silently as she bit her quivering lip. "Very well... 
then I have to do this." Ignoring the pain of her heart that mingled 
with her growing anxiety, she suddenly charged.

     <Grandfather... father... Kinta-san... please, give me strength,>
she thought as she shouted, "I will stop you, Seta-kun!" 




***




     "STOP!"

     Kyoko and Soujiro glanced at the source of the impassioned
objection as they both paused the in middle of their mutual charge.

     "Yahiko-san?" Soujiro said in a half-surprised, half-puzzled tone. 

     The boy in question slowly got up from his crouching position near
the now-bloodied bamboo stalks, grasping his shoulder in an effort to 
lessen the bleeding. "I feel... so ashamed."

     Yahiko looked up, his eyes containing neither fear nor anger...
humiliation and humility were its only contents. "I was petrified by you 
just because you were Shishio's right hand man and an even match against 
Kenshin. But here was Kyoko, ready to fight you even though she was 
probably more scared of the prospect of fighting you than I am..." he 
suddenly grasped the sakabatou with both hands, "than I was."
     
     "Please... Yahiko-san!" Kyoko addressed, remembering the 
spiky-haired boy's name at the last minute. "You're hurt, and this is
hardly your fight anymore!" she half-pleaded, half-reproached. 

     Yahiko suddenly grinned widely at the young girl. "I'm sorry... I 
was such a moron. I originally came here at your mother's request to
save you, but once I saw all those dead people and psycho-kid over 
there, I suddenly became self-righteous and arrogant. I wanted to prove 
myself and my skill so desperately that I lost sight of what I was 
supposed to do."

     Kyoko finally put two and two together as she remembered where
she had seen the boy before. <He was the one who challenged Keisuke
and his gang this morning!> To Yahiko, she admonished, "Thank you, but
I don't feel the need to be rescued."    

     Yahiko's grinning face suddenly turned serious. "I know." Getting
Kyoko's full attention, he persisted, stating, "I understand your 
position. I know that you wanted to get that bastard Keisuke yourself. 
You didn't like the fact that he made you feel so helpless and 
violated... that's why you're here right now. You tried to be brave, 
even though you felt you couldn't. You wanted to be strong so that 
nobody could make you feel helpless anymore."

     Yahiko sighed. <Boy, did that sound familiar.>

     "But like I said before, I won't be fighting psycho-kid for the 
sake of my own self-righteousness." The Kamiya Kasshin Ryu practitioner 
briefly glanced at the blissful-looking swordsman, wincing at bit in 
annoyance. "It looks like the two of you are the best of friends. And, 
even though I don't like psycho-kid all that much, I hate it when 
friends fight each other. I myself would hate it if I were put in a 
position where I had to fight a close friend of mine. So... I have to
do this." 
     
     "Y-Yahiko-san..." Kyoko trailed-off. <He's so spirited. He's a lot
like Chizuru-san and Yuki-san.>
     
     "Hey... psycho-kid! Did you hear that? I'm still going to fight!" 
Yahiko called out boisterously. "Let's finish this."

      Soujiro laughed gaily and openly. ""Very well. Though, I must warn 
you... I doubt you'll survive another charge with that wound of yours, 
Yahiko-san." With his familiar mask of blissfulness still intact, 
Soujiro unceremoniously unsheathed his sword. "I'm sorry to say, but 
that's the truth."

     "Is that so?" Yahiko snorted. "How arrogant of you."

     Soujiro shook his head earnestly. "This isn't arrogance... this is
one of the most important things I've learned in my life as a swordsman.
Having pure motives and good intentions doesn't assure you of a victory 
in the end. Even though it sounds sad and tragic, it's still strength 
and skill and not purpose and resolve that determines who will win and 
who will lose. Even though you're determined to win, you will still 
lose, Yahiko-san."

     "Really now?" Yahiko growled as he struggled inside himself to
find his inner calm. <I saw how Kyoko smiled at you, Soujiro... she has 
already found the person she could smile with. And because of my moment 
of weakness, I nearly forced a girl to fight the one person she'd hate 
to fight the most... because of that, I cannot afford defeat.>
        
     Kyoko reflexively flinched as she saw a couple of leaves snap right 
in front of her. "Snapping leaves?" she ponderously whispered. <Is
this... is this the phenomenon grandpa told me about? The phenomenon 
called...?> 

     "Call me stubborn, but... even though you say that, psycho-kid..." 

     <With my sword, I'll make it my destiny to protect. I will not 
allow failure.>

     "I'LL NEVER GIVE UP!"

     Upon shouting out his ardent declaration, a thin bamboo stalk from 
behind Yahiko was suddenly split in half, startling the only two people 
who witnessed it. 

     <Kenki,> Soujiro thought delightedly.




***




     The furious exchange of sword strikes between the two prodigies was 
brief.

     Seconds seemed to pass forever as they stood there with their backs 
turned, the intensity of their respective attacks creating a powerful 
updraft of ferocious wind that scattered the bamboo leaves across the 
landscape.

     Myoujin Yahiko was the first one to fall as a dark, moist stain 
grew on his blue gi. 

     A cheerful, amused voice inside the young Tokyo Samurai psyche 
began mocking him.

     "Having pure motives and good intentions doesn't assure you of a 
victory in the end."

     <No... oh God no...>

     "Even though it sounds sad and tragic, it's still strength and 
skill and not purpose and resolve that determines who will win and who
will lose."

     <I missed? I still missed?>

     "Even though you're determined to win, you will still lose, 
Yahiko-san."

     <I still... failed?>

     Yahiko gritted his teeth in frustration and desperation. <No matter
what I do, no matter how hard I try, no matter how determined I am... I 
still can't beat him. Why? Why?> 




***




     <No good!> Kyoko thought as she pitifully looked at the crouched 
and bloodied form of Yahiko. <He's still not strong enough... even 
though his fighting spirit is incredible, it's still not enough.>

     <Disappointed again,> Soujiro reflected as he looked at his 
bloodied blade with a touch of dissatisfaction in his merry features. 
<I was kind of expecting him to rise to the challenge, but apparently it 
was too much for me to ask. What a pity.>




***




     A stray memory entered Yahiko's mind... it contained a vision of 
himself and Kenshin six years ago... when Chou had just visited them to 
talk about what happened after the death of Shishio Makoto and the
dissolution of the Juppon Gatana.  

     "Hey, Kenshin... we won. Aren't we the ones who're right?" It was a
query that came from the ten year old Yahiko's mouth.

     "If you think might makes right, you're the same as Shishio Makoto. 
Which side was right is up to future generations. What we can do is 
believe in what we know ourselves to be true... and to fight for it." It
was Kenshin's own words.

     A new query... a new statement... was asked by the sixteen year old
Yahiko.
     
     "But what if you were sure to lose? No matter what you do, no 
matter how hard you try, no matter how determined you are... you still 
can't win? What will you do then?"

     "Maa maa, Yahiko..." Kenshin cooed in the kendoist's nostalgic 
mind. "You already know the answer to that."




***




     Soujiro looked at his sword, feeling as though something was 
amiss. <Hm... how curious.> He cautiously cleaned the blade with a 
handkerchief, inspecting it carefully. <Hm... no nicks nor scratches
on the edge itself... I'm fairly sure that the sakabatou wasn't even
able to even touch the blade as I slashed Yahiko-san. I must be 
imagining things.>

     His eyes then widened in mild surprise.




***




     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.

     It was a memory of an unsaid promise of mutual understanding.

     <When I finally return to Tokyo, Tsubame... I will return as a man!
Wait for me!>




***




     Right before his eyes, Soujiro's hand guard began to crackle and
pop before it abruptly shattered.

     "The hand guard!" Kyoko accidentally exclaimed in shock. <Did...
did the Yahiko-san's sword strike do that?>




***




     "Didn't we promise to each other that if I'd continue to search for
the person that would make me smile, you, in turn, would continue to 
search for the person that you could openly cry with? I have never 
forgotten than promise." This was Kyoko's pleading promise to Soujiro.

     <When I finally return to Tokyo, Tsubame... I will return as a man!
Wait for me!> This was Yahiko's unsaid promise to Tsubame.

     <A samurai's word is his bond... though I didn't even state my 
promise to Tsubame, I will still stake my life on it,> Yahiko thought as
he struggled to get up. The stinging warmth he felt in his abdomen was
very real this time, instead of just a passing remembrance of pain...
but he barely took heed of it. <I know how important your wish is to you, 
Kyoko. I know that you'll do anything for that wish.>

     Yahiko narrowed his eyes. <I know... because I also have the same 
sort of wish.>   

     "He told me to fight for a dream... a goal... a wish." 

     <I also want to fight for a dream, a goal and a wish, Kyoko.>

     "Even though it sounds sad and tragic, it's still strength and 
skill and not purpose and resolve that determines who will win and who
will lose."

     <Even though I hate to admit it, psycho-kid's probably right.>
     
     "But what if you were sure to lose? No matter what you do, no 
matter how hard you try, no matter how determined you are... you still 
can't win? What will you do then?"

     <What will I do now?>

     "You already know the answer to that."
     
     <Yes... I do. Even if I was sure to lose... I will still fight...
for a wish and a promise.>

     A memory of Tsubame blushingly tying a red string on Yahiko's
sandals filled the young man's psyche.

     <Because, even when faced with insurmountable odds, some wishes are
just worth fighting for!> 




***




    <So...> Soujiro amusedly thought, <he was able to anticipate my 
attack.>

     The former Ten Ken chuckled. <I was so concentrated on slashing 
his gut as fast as possible that I didn't noticed that he had hit the 
hand guard of my sword instead.> He trailed his finger on the now 
exposed mental band that separated blade from hilt. <Meaning the 
sakabatou was able to absorb the power of my sword strike... which, in 
turn, means that...>

     "Psycho-kid!" Yahiko yelled. "That last attack was pathetic! I
was cut deeper by an old, decrepit ninja!"

     <This is beginning to become... a fight to enjoy,> Soujiro Seta
thought as he prepared his attacking stance once more.




***




Next:  Refrain.

Nope... no little cut scenes with the Himura family and Tsubame this
time. This is a serious, kick-ass fight scene type of chapter that's
sprinkled with generous amounts of philosophical and psychological 
diatribes. I hope you enjoy. ^_^

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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