Chapter II: No longer a slave


Hiko Seijuro XIII was in paradise.

In the cellar before him lay hundreds upon hundreds of jugs stacked sky-high in shelves, holding every kind of sake imaginable. For a connoisseur like him, there was no better place to be. The aroma was breathtaking.

"Hiko-sama," Two beautiful women with sexy voices addressed him. "How may we help you?"

"Should we serve you some sake?" Asked one. "What does your heart desire?"

Hiko composed himself. Someone as manly and refined as himself should not behave like an awestruck child. "I'll have a pint of all your best varieties, please." he answered with a pleasant smile.

They led him to a table in the corner with a plump cushion to recline on. "Do you want us massage those huge muscles while sipping your sake, Hiko-sama?"

"Why not?" The pleasure was evident on his face, as he observed them placing cup after cup of sake of the finest vintage before his eyes. "Shishou!" Eh? What was that squeaky little voice?

"This is the life!" he crooned, gulping down his fifth cup as a pair of soft hands gently rubbed his tired shoulders. "Shishou!" That strange voice again...

Hiko continued to ignore it. Then suddenly the hands started rubbing harder. "Hey! Not so hard. I want a gentle massage." he complained.

"SHISHOU!"

Hiko woke with a start. He then noticed four things.

Firstly, he was not in a sake cellar but a shabby hut. Whose roof had holes in it through which bright sunlight was falling on his eyes.

Secondly, there were no beautiful women, only one beautiful(had he been a girl) little boy.

Thirdly, the soft hands belonged to the aforemented boy, and they were shaking his shoulders, not rubbing them.

And lastly, the smell invading his nostrils was not the aroma of sake but a rather unpleasant smell that he had become quite familiar with in the past month.

"Shishou..." Kenshin started, "It's getting late..."

"Kenshin," he said groggily, sounding angrier by the second. "You haven't, by chance, wet your futon again, have you?"

"Umm," the boy mumbled, sheepishly. "Yes, I have."

"BAKA DESHI!"

XXXXXXXX

"Keep scrubbing till the colour and smell goes away!" yelled Hiko, as he watched over the bubbling pot.

"But my hands are tired, Shishou..."

"Shut up! And when you're done you have to clean the floor. Twice. Only then will you get breakfast!"

"Shishou! This is inhuman!"

Hiko smirked. Hearing Kenshin complain was a sign that he was finally growing out of the mindset of a slave. Ever since he took him in, he was worried about the boy's quiet submissiveness. He would do whatever tasks Hiko asked of him without question, no matter how difficult they were. He had told Hiko that he had only been a slave for a few months, so Hiko guessed that the slavers must have been very dedicated with their job. Seeing the welts across Kenshin's back where he had been whipped, he knew he was right.

Now Hiko Seijuro didn't mind having an obedient pupil, but he did not want to train a mindless puppet.

Ultimately he decided, in all his infinite wisdom, that the best way to beat the slave boy out of Kenshin was to pile chore after chore on him till he snapped under the pressure. That would be convenient for him as well.

Strangely, the idea had worked.

After he finally finished, Kenshin walked over to his master's side, his joints aching.

"Took you long enough. The soup is cold, but it's still edible." said Hiko, handing him a bowl. "Finish up. After this we're going to finish fixing that damn roof."

Kenshin drained his bowl greedily, too hungry to argue.

Hiko had spent the past two weeks teaching the boy carpentry as they went about making repairs to the dilapidated hut. Unfortunately, Kenshin was not as quick as he hoped when it came to learning skills related to craftsmanship. He was, however, very good at feminine tasks like cooking and cleaning, much to his master's chagrin. Hiko wondered if he had been a girl in his previous life.

By the time they finished it was past dusk.

"Finally. That took ages." said Hiko, seated comfortably on a rock, sipping sake as he watched his pupil stretch his tired limbs up on the roof.

"If you'd been up here helping me it'd have been over in half the time." snapped Kenshin, who was aching all over his body. "I did all the work!"

"It's not my fault those beams can't support the weight of my mature body." said Hiko pleasantly. He looked over the repairs with a critical eye. They would last the winter, but afterwards they would need a reworking. Kenshin wasn't much of a carpenter. "Now come down. It's time for dinner."

As they ate in silence, Hiko noticed Kenshin staring at him hesitantly and then withdrawing his gaze, as if he wanted to ask Hiko something important but was afraid to do so. "Whatever is on your mind, say it out aloud instead of staring at me like a shy little girl."

Kenshin reddened. "Shishou...I really, really appreciate you taking me in, but...when are you going to teach me...you know..."

Hiko stared. "What?"

"Well...how to be a swordsman?"

Ah.

"Be patient. We have to get you a sword first. And besides, it is important for a swordsman to possess other skills besides that of the sword." Hiko looked at him thoughtfully. "How well were you educated?"

"Eh?" The boy looked confused.

"You said your parents were peasants. Did they teach you anything? How to read and write? Mathematics?"

"Well," the boy looked embarrassed. "I can read. But I can't write very well...and I can add and subtract..."

Hiko snorted. That settled it. He would spend the next two weeks tutorning the boy on calligraphy and basic mathematics. Then they would go to the village to get supplies and pick up his sword. Then, finally, his training would begin for real.

"By the way, you'll be doing all the cooking from tomorrow onwards. I've taught you enough. For breakfast I want rabbit stew with herbs."

"Whaaaa..?"


Author's note: I hope Hiko didn't end up looking like a perverted Jiraiya clone. I just needed a scenario for him to have a nice dream and sake was the only thing that came up(being the only thing he's really fond of). It seemed natural that the sake would be served by pretty female waitresses. And while Hiko is by no means a womaniser, he certainly doesn't mind showing off in front of the ladies, as he showed at the Aoiya. Please Review. All it takes is a minute.

PS. For the next chapter, I need to come up with some Japanese names. Can someone help me out with a list, please?