Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. I do however have a Kenshin plushie that is always good for cuddling.
The warm spring sun filtered through foliage. A breeze blew soft sakura petals through a clearing where a boy-- young man, really-- knelt. Bright red hair stood out boldly against the new greens of spring. He allowed the utter calm that pervaded the clearing to fill him as he carefully, deftly tied a blindfold around his eyes and plugged his ears with wax.
As if on cue, a dragon of a man, as confident as the mountains themselves, strode into the clearing. The stark white of his cloak was reminiscent of the winter snows, as was the gleaming, sharp silver of his naked blade. The man positioned himself behind the kneeling boy, raised his sword to strike, and waited.
Then-- the singing of a swung blade and the rustle of cloth as the boy gracefully tumbled out of the way.
The giant man removed the blindfold and motioned for the boy to remove his ear-plugs.
"Baka-deshi. You survived. Now go complete your chores."
The boy sighed. It's not as if he had expected true praise. He meekly left the clearing prepared to complete the week's washing.
A/N: The insperation for this came after a conversation with my friend and wonderfully patient beta-person Thistescratch (READ HER STUFF ::shameless plug::) when she described her Shihan's ki-sensing test, which is known as Sak-ki (not to be confused with the alcoholic beverage). The above is the result. Comments and constructive criticism are always appreciated.