Chapter 1: Owing Hiko Seijuro!

I really should have stayed for a few days...but my dumb ass wanted to go home and train. Now I'll be lucky to make it home alive.

While currently stumbling through the forest just outside of Kyoto, I notice I'm being followed. Shit! I really really should have stayed with the doctor to heal. Stupid Misao!

To not let on to my stalker that I realized his habit, I leveled my panicky ki and prepared myself to throw kunai and run.

In my weakened state, I would not make it through a fight with anyone. Hell, I probably wouldn't win a fight with a kitten.

Too bad dizziness swept through me right before I was reaching for my kunai, and still, I threw directly at him. They should have pierced him, but this big man (seriously, he's the biggest man I've seen) somehow caught them. It was then I passed out from expelling too much energy. I'm sorry Aoshi-sama. I was too weak.

To my surprise, I woke up. I thought I was dead for sure. Hmph. Guess not.

Rolling from being on my back, to on my hands and knees wasn't too difficult. It was standing up without throwing up that was. Once I was up on my feet and swallowing the bile that had risen in my throat, I focused then on my surroundings.

I was in what you could call a hut (for how small it was). Intricate and beautiful pottery lined the shelves against all of the walls in the small shelter. It was then I felt the presence in the distance heading towards the hut I was in. Immediately my guard rose, realizing it was the same guy from earlier and knowing I couldn't take on someone that strong, and I grappled for any weapons on my body and found them still in their rightful places.

When I searched my body I took note of new bandages wrapped on my wounds and the fever I had before I passed out was gone. This behemoth must have patched me up and taken care of my fever. This was hard to believe from how rough of a character look he had, but who was I to judge? Kami-sama! Now I owe big man for saving my life?! Kuso!

It was during my mental ramblings and distraction that he entered swiftly through the blanket covering the entrance to the hut.

Shit! He's HUGE! Once again, I became on my guard and glared at him suspiciously.

He ignored and walked past me towards a sake jug that was on top of the fireplace, he then proceeded to take a large pull from it while walking past me once more and out the way he came in.

I stared incredulously at the blanket-covered entrance/exit and let out a short laugh before stumbling out that same way.

I opened my mouth to ask him who he was, why I was there (aside from obvious reasons of him saving me) when he clearly was following me, and what was he going to do to me.

He beat me to the punch and said, "The name is Hiko Seijuro. I followed you because I smelled blood. You're not a threat to me."

Irritated he didn't let me speak and he seemed to not answer my last question that I didn't speak I said, "Seeing as I'm not a threat, that means I don't need to stay here. Thank you for patching me up, but I think I should go home now."

He stared blankly while saying, "You're not going home. Thanking me won't pay for the used bandages and the herbs for your infection. You being here will."

My jaw dropped at his audacity to refuse me going home and him suggesting that I owe him anything. Okay, maybe I do but that's beside the point. I am not going to give him any sexual payment just because he saved me. EW!

He interrupts me again before I have the chance to speak and he says, "I'm not like that, so get that out of your head. You're just a child...and I meant you're not going home until I know that you're fast enough to escape from men like the ones that gave you those wounds. Besides, you don't want your Oniwabanshu friends to see you so banged up."

I stiffened and quickly asked, "How did you know I'm Oniwaban?!"

"Girl, you threw your kunai at me and while you were out I had time to investigate the insignia on it." He smirked at my incredulity.

"Don't think I'm doing it for you, I knew your father and still owe him for saving my life once. So you're training with me to make sure you won't get hurt while getting your revenge." He holds out his hand in the world-wide-known way of saying, 'deal?'

A knife pierces my heart, and my hands shake because I can barely remember my father from when I was three and I grasp the behemoth's large hand.

He nods and my training begins. It lasted a month before I went to stay at home, under the condition I'd run back to his hut every day. Let's just say he would know if I ran all the way or not.

From there on out, I trained with Hiko every day in a multitude of ways for a year and a half which brings me to today.

He said he had nothing else to teach me other than the final techniques of the Hittenmitserugi Ryu Sword Style. These techniques would go to his successor Himura Kenshin when he was ready.

Hiko then proceeded to tell me I learned even faster than his previous student did which was probably due to my being older than his student was when he started learning. Hiko also said it was due to my ninja training from before and the extra training I also took on after practice with Hiko every day. This training was with all of the Oniwabanshu that remained in the Aoiya.

It wasn't that I didn't want them to know about my special training, it was just that I didn't want them to figure out the reasoning behind it.

They never learned about my special skills in Hittenmitserugi Ryuu or the fact that I was probably stronger than them. I always slowed myself down to properly learn the different techniques of the omnitsu versus Hiko's style.

Besides, I loved the secrecy of knowing a hidden sword style that none of them practiced. I loved having the edge.

But if I didn't want them to learn my secret, which I don't, I had to act and train at the same level as before the rape happened. This was difficult, but it also taught me how to lie effectively and the Aoiya was never the wiser.

-TO BE CONTINUED...