Vengeance
Prologue
"Nihao, Seijuro Hiko-san."
Hiko had not been surprised when the younger man had approached him on the path leading to his woodland home. Quite the contrary. Since his keen senses were always on the alert, he'd known that the other swordsman had been following him since he'd left the city earlier...but he had yet to figure out why.
"Who might you be?" Hiko asked, vaguely annoyed and yet curious despite himself.
"My name is of no importance to you, swordmaster. In fact, you might not want to know it by the time I am through with you." the stranger said, with a hint of menace behind his seemingly calm smile and stance.
"Is that so?" Hiko asked, with a smirk; skepticism making itself known in his voice, "I beg to differ. Who are you, and why are you so foolishly challenging me?" He received a snarl in response to his question, and calmly watched as rage boiled up within the younger man; turning his dark eyes almost crimson.
"If you must know, my name is Yukishiro Enishi. I am the brother of the woman your disgusting apprentice, Hitokiri Battousai, murdered ten years ago." the younger man growled, as he grasped his sword tightly in one hand.
"I had no apprentice that went by that name." Hiko stated, coldly; turning to leave as he said that.
"That's right! He went by another name when he was with you! 'Kenshin', am I right?" Enishi asked, his smile taking on an insane, even a slightly evil, nuance when he saw the older man pause, and then look back at him, "Your eyes betray you, Seijuro-sensei."
"Damn!" Hiko's mind snarled, before he asked, "Where and when?"
"Now, and in that quaint little cemetery that 'Kenshin' had dug with his own hands so many years ago." Enishi replied; sneering when a hint of some emotion appeared briefly in Hiko's dark eyes.
"He's more disturbed about that than he cares to admit...Perfect." Enishi mused, as Hiko led the way to the clearing where he, over nineteen years before, had rescued Kenshin from certain death. When they reached the clearing where the three rough-hewn stones stood, Enishi took up a position on the far side of it and unsheathed his sword. Without saying a word, Hiko prepared himself for the first strike; dark eyes narrowed as he gripped his sheathed nihontou in his left hand and prepared to draw. What came next would be seared into his memory for many years to come; with startling speed, Enishi attacked, his swing barely halted by Hiko's blade.
"Faster than I thought..." Hiko mused, as he repelled Enishi's blade, then launched himself into the Ryu Sou Sen; feeling something akin to shock when the white-haired swordsman dodged it.
"Come now, Hiko-san! You're going to have to do better than that!" Enishi taunted, sneering when he saw the brief look of disbelief cross the swordmaster's face, and noticing when a glimmer of pain appeared in his ebon-colored eyes.
"Of course! I had almost forgotten! He's still healing from his injuries! How very fortunate, indeed!" Enishi mused, a deranged smiled spreading across his face as he effectively blocked a Ryu Tsui Sen and lashed out with an attack of his own. He watched with evident pleasure as his attack caught Hiko in the chest and stomach, and the force of it knocked him a full ten feet back. Yet he did not fall.
"You're stronger than I took you for, Hiko-san, considering how badly you had been injured almost two months ago!" Enishi stated, still smiling as he watched the blood from Hiko's wounds begin to flow freely, and as the swordmaster struggled to steel himself against the pain.
"I don't know how you came to know about what had happened here during that time, nor do I care. All I can tell you is that if you involve anyone other than me in this sick game of yours', I will kill you personally." Hiko growled, his underlying desire to protect coming to the fore.
"Yare, yare. How can you, as wounded as you are? You can barely stand, let alone defeat me!" Enishi scoffed, involuntarily stepping back when a hint of amber appeared in Hiko's normally dark eyes...and the feeling of incredible strength bridged the distance between them.
"You would do well to heed my warning, because I will not waste any more breath on you to do so." Hiko warned, with a deadly undertone in his voice as he straightened up sheathed his sword, and let his right arm drop to his side; while he tightly held both sword and sheath in his left hand.
"Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki...It might be the only chance I've got...Yet I wish I didn't have to use it so soon into the fight." Hiko mused, tamping down on his rising anger, and focusing his full attention on Enishi. For a few, brief seconds, all was still between them; making them seem like statues. Then all hell broke loose.
"Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu Battoujutsu! Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki!"
"Watojutsu Lethal Move! Kofuku Zettousei!"
The battle was decided in mere moments.
Author's Note!
Yeah, I realize that there might be some problems with the timeline, but this is an attempt to get Hiko involved in the Jinchuu Arc. (It's also an attempt at a sequel to 'Unease on the Homefront'). Review please!
Gemini14