Time: 7 years after Episode 95

Forgotten Evil

In the heat of midsummer, the days always seemed to be incredibly tiresome. The people walking throughout the streets and markets of Tokyo were walking a bit slower than usual. It was one of those days where the whole family would go out and spend time together, the younger children often dragging their feet behind their parents. Merchants sat under their small fabric canopies, fanning themselves as they smiled to the folks passing slowly by. An occasional police officer would stop to make small talk with the merchants who were having a lull in the sparse visits of costumers, and then would move down the street to the next shop.

But one tall shopper walked slower than everyone else. Chewing a long piece of dry straw, the tall man sighed as he shifted his view back and forth, eyeing the two story hotels, restaurants, and shops. They all were alive and exciting only days earlier, but now they all looked dull and boring. The whole week had been nothing but lonely afternoons and lonely nights.

The bright glare of the sun shining off of the dry dirt beneath his feet didn't make things any better for him. He stopped as he reached a long overhang shading a fruit stand. Standing in the shade, he felt slightly more alive. It was amazing how much a difference shade could make. Swiping his spiked, black hair, the tall man reached down for one of the mangoes in the stand.

A sharp pain pinged in his wrist.

"Hey!" said an elderly woman, barely able to open her age-squinted eyes. "You got money this time, skinny boy?"

"Skinny boy?" asked the man. "Aw, come on, lady. I was gonna pay you back. Don't worry."

The woman snickered.

"That's what you tell everyone," she said. "Every business owner in town knows not to give anything away to the tall man in the white gi, and I'm not going to be one of the idiots who do!"

After hearing that remark, Sanosuke sighed and replaced the fruit. Instead of tasting juicy fruit, he was chewing on a straw. This was definitely not his week. Slowly, he left the comfort of the shady overhang, giving the old woman a sarcastic wave.

How boring were things going to get for him? Kenshin and Kaoru were away in Kyoto; Yahiko was away for the day on some date with Tsubame (at his age now, marriage may be a possibility for him too). He smiled when he thought of Megummi, but sighed when he remembered that she was gone too. She was in some village in the mountains teaching the doctors how to treat a certain disease the village was suffering from. He tried as hard as he could to go with her, but she was as stubborn as ever.

Still, it was that stubbornness that set her apart in his mind from other women. He couldn't explain it, and frankly neither could she, but the two were attracted to each other ever since they first met. Now, almost eight years later, he had finally managed the guile to ask her to marry him. Sansosuke thought for sure he'd get turned down, despite already having been on so many dates with her. But to his surprise she said yes…well more like shouted, but that was fine with him.

But now, his fiancée was up in a remote village in the mountains, his best friend was with his wife in Kyoto, his mischief partner Yahiko was in a crazy romance of his own, and even Tsunan was out of town.

"This weeks sucks," Sanosuke growled again.

From behind a stack of chicken crates in a nearby alley, a figure hid in the shadow, remaining unseen even by the peasants walking right by him. He kept himself pinned against the wall, hanging just slightly off the ground by using his fingertips to press himself up the cold stone. The man in the white gi was still walking down the street, about to move out of view.

In an instant, the figure leapt off the wall, jumped off the building opposite him, and landed on the roof of the building he had been perched on. Only taking time to adjust his footing, the man, wearing dark clothing, hurdled a clothesline and mounted the roof of the next house. He leapt from rooftop to rooftop, stopping when he was past the other man by a couple of houses.

Here he waited, staying low to the rooftop and breathing silently. How he hated being out in the open like this. His role before had never taken him out of the safety of the shadows, but here he was exposed to everything. The only thing keeping him from being spotted was by lying as flat as possible. But no matter how much he hated this type of hunting, it still excited him. Even after all these years, the hunt was always exhilarating.

Sansosuke yawned as he approached a t-junction in the road ahead. He'd head right and check on Dr. Genzai. Ayame and Susume were supposed to be there now, helping him while Megummi was away. Maybe if things were slow over there too, then he'd talk to them for a while.

He turned the corner and kept his slow pace as he made his way up the street. Suddenly it had gotten much colder. The sun was still beating down its incessant rays of heat, but something made him feel like he was in a shadow. It was an odd sensation, but the heat of the sun was quickly returning. As quickly as it came, the feeling was gone. Sanosuke paused for a moment longer, and then continued his trek to Dr. Genzai's house.

The dark hunter cursed under his breath. He saw the tall man turn the corner of the street, but rose to follow a bit too soon. He couldn't afford to be careless with this one. Though the man in the white gi carried no weapons, his fists were what made him dangerous. The hunter had studied the effects of his prey's technique, and could help but be impressed…almost intimidated. But if he could stay out of his sight, he could find the opportunity he needed.

When his prey had continued out of view, the figure again raced over the rooftops, guiding his feet carefully but quietly.

He trailed the tall man to a doctor's residence, where he remained for nearly two hours. The sun had shifted a bit, casting a slight shadow behind a protruding chimney. It wasn't very large, but inviting nonetheless. The figure contracted his limbs and pinned himself tightly against the stone, blending into the shadow. This was where he belonged, and where he felt the most alive.

Sanosuke talked a little bit to Susume, who was now a surprisingly competent teenager. Ayame helped Dr. Genzai perform an operation on a man who had nearly lost his foot by being careless with his scythe while reaping in the fields. The operation took several hours, but the rest of the patients were merely headaches and dehydration sufferers. Sanosuke handed out cups of water, while Susume gave out prescriptions for the headaches. After a few hours, he decided to head for the dojo. Perhaps he could lie down and take a nap. Sleeping was always a great way to kill time.

He said goodbye to the doctor and the girls, and then walked back out to the street. As he turned in the direction of the dojo, he felt the cold sensation again. Standing still, he felt it much clearer than he did a few hours before. His eyes narrowed. The feeling was concentrated in one spot above him and to the right.

The figure was motionless, barely able to see the top of the tall man's head over the edge of the rooftop. But the man wasn't moving. Had he seen him? No, he was moving again, up the street. For good measure, the shadow dweller waited a minute before following his prey. Soon he was hunting again, leaping over alleys and racing along the rooftops.

It wasn't much longer until he reached the Kamiya Kashin Ryu Dojo. From his perch high across the street, the figure watched the tall man enter the main training room. With the sun only a threat for the next two hours, he decided to wait for the cover of darkness. Then he would make his move.

The time passed slowly for the hunter, growing impatient with every unfruitful minute. Still, the sun was setting, blending from orange to crimson to violet. The air was cooler, refreshing to the exposed skin around his eyes. The street below was nearly deserted, only littered with the occasional carriage or passersby.

He'd had it. There was no way he was waiting any longer. Like an eagle from its nest, the figure leapt across the street, landing solidly onto the shingled roof of the dojo gate. No one had spotted him. Content with not being seen, he dropped quietly into the courtyard, ducking behind a cluster of bushes. With stealth, hiding sight and sound, he glided from shadow to shadow, rounding the courtyard clockwise until he arrived at the side of the large training room.

He sat still, huddled behind a large fern. In the silence of the courtyard, he heard only the distant bustle of carriages passing in the street. The wind had started to pick up a little, swaying the branches of the trees around him. But no sound came from the dojo. Perhaps the man was sleeping.

Like a snake, he crawled across the ground and up the side of the building. The windows in the dojo were at the top of the walls, to allow more sunlight inside, as the day progressed. He gently slid one window open about a half inch. There was no movement inside, though it was growing dark enough that he could have been mistaken. He waited on the wall for another minute before opening the window about a foot more. Slithering through the opening, he found his footing and closed the window behind him.

The training room was empty, devoid of anyone or anything. Plaques hung on the walls, but nothing more. Across the room from him was the other wall, looking much like the one he had crawled down. The far end of the room, to his left, held much the same, only it lacked any sunlight, casting dark shadows in the corners. Two sliding doors ornamented the room's front wall. But that was all he saw. Slowly, he began moving across the large, wooden training floor.

"Breaking and entering," came a voice from a dark corner of the room.

The figure spun around immediately, tensing and tightening his muscles. From out of the pitch came the tall man in the white gi. Under the spiking hair was a determined glare, complemented by a wry smile.

"Last time I checked," continued Sanosuke, "that was a criminal offense." The figure didn't respond. "Who are you? What do you want?"

Again, the figure didn't respond. He only stood there motionless, frozen like a rabit spotted by a predator. Sanosuke, however, wasn't in the mood for the silent treatment.

"Hey," Sanosuke growled. "I've been waiting for you for two hours now, and I really hate to be kept waiting. Answer me. Who are you and what do you want?"

Finally, the figure moved, standing up to face the other man.

"I'm no one," said the intruder. "No one but a messenger. I need to leave a message for the battousai."

Sansosuke stood a little straighter. This guy knew about Kenshin.

"Ok," Sanosuke said. "What is it? I'll make sure he gets it."

A senial snicker came from behind the ninja-like mask of the intruder.

"No," said the man. "You don't understand." Two long knives slid down from his sleeves and into his hands. "I need to send a message."

Sanosuke didn't move, nor waver in his stare. Now he knew what was going on. Whoever this guy worked for wanted Kenshin dead, and was going to send him a prediction by killing one of his friends. Too bad it wasn't going to happen to him though.

After a few more seconds of staring, the dark figure shot forward, running full steam with the knives in his hands. Sanosuke stood still, putting his hands in his pockets. The apathetic attitude of his prey spurred the ninja to charge him faster. He was almost upon him.

Just as the figure reached Sanosuke, the tall man stepped quickly out of the way, and then backwards to avoid the next attack. The intruder was swinging the knives in wide circles, trying to keep out of reach of the Sanosuke's long and powerful arms. But none of the attacks could scratch him. Sanosuke was simply dodging the swings by stepping out of the way.

For this, Sanosuke was rather disappointed. If someone wanted Kenshin dead, why send such a poor fighter? But they weren't trying for Kenshin tonight. No, they were trying to kill him. That meant that they thought of him as weak. Now Sanosuke was really angry.

He whipped his hands out of his pockets, catching one of the assailants flailing arms. With the intruder momentarily paused, Sanosuke gave one punch to his face, knocking him flat on his back. Instantly, the man jumped back to his feet and continued his assault. But Sanosuke again caught on his useless attacks, this time twisting the man's arm until the knife dropped out of the hand. The intruder quickly tried getting in a stab with the other blade, but Sanosuke caught that arm as well. The attacker screamed in pain as the second knife dropped to the floor.

Now having both of the intruder's arms pinned, Sanosuke drove his foot straight up into the air. He connected with his opponent's chin, knocking him backwards. The ninja fell, hitting the wooden floor with a thud.

Sanosuke stared at the unconscious man on the floor. What was this all about? As bent down to take a closer look at the man, he noticed gray hair sticking out of the mask. Sanosuke pulled the black cloth off the man's head. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. This man must be over fifty years old. Why on earth would they send an old man to fight him?