Disclaimer: I still own nothing.
Author's Note: I want to give a big Thank You to all of my reviewers! You guys are great! Thank you! Its fun to write fan-fiction but it's even more fun to know that people like it!
Chapter 3: To rescue a beautiful…princess!
True to Kenshin's word, late the next morning the group found themselves standing outside of a clinic in the village.
"Doctor Genzai, are you in there?" Kaoru, now safely in her human body, shouted loudly while she pounded on the clinic door.
An elderly man opened the door, "Ah, Kaoru-chan. What brings you here?"
Ayame pushed herself past Kaoru, followed by Suzume, "You forgot us again Grandpa," she pouted, echoed by Suzume, "Forgot us."
Doctor Genzai scratched the back of his head, "Eh…Knew I was forgetting something, the house did seem awful quite last night."
"Did you concoct that tea you were going to create for your memory?" Kaoru asked.
Genzai frowned, "I believe I forgot that too."
Kaoru shot Kenshin a "What did I tell you" look before turning back to the doctor, "Now that we know the girls are here safely we'll take our leave."
Ayame had been whispering to her grandfather and he looked towards the group, "My granddaughters ask that you stay for lunch. It's the least thanks I can offer you for getting them home safely."
Kenshin didn't want to accept, accepting could put these people into unnecessary danger, but Kaoru had already accepted.
'Why do we always end up wasting time we don't have?' Kenshin wondered as he thought of the travel time they had already lost. If it had just been Sano and he they would be very close to Shishio's kingdom by now.
However there was nothing he could do but accept the hospitality kindly. After all, it might be nice to actually eat a real meal, instead of their travel supplies for a change, Kenshin reasoned with his conscience.
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The meal did not last long and a little while later the group was back onto the streets, trying to leave the village as quickly and as quietly as they could.
That was when the screaming started.
"Help! Help me!" A man's voice rang out over the crowded marketplace and Kenshin's head snapped up. Without a word to the others Kenshin began to move through the crowds towards the man.
"Hey Kenshin, where are you going?" Sano yelled but the red head didn't look back. "We'd better catch up." Kaoru began to push after Kenshin with Yahiko on her heels and reluctantly the others had to follow.
Kenshin had reached the man who was yelling, "What is wrong san? Can I help you in some way?"
The man saw the sword hanging at Kenshin's belt and grasped his hand, "Yes! You, with your sword can help me!"
"Please tell me what is wrong." Kenshin urged.
"My daughter has been taken captive by a terrible dragon that lives in the hills surrounding this village. She is my only child and I fear greatly for her safety. Please save her."
"I'll do my best that I will to return your daughter safely." Kenshin assured the man.
"Alright Himura, what kind of idiotic quest have you decided to take on now?" Saitou's gravelly voice sounded from behind Kenshin and he spun around, "It isn't an idiotic quest that it isn't. This man's only child was taken captive by a dragon and he asked me to help her. I can't refuse him that I most certainly can't."
"Then we're going with you! We are the Kenshin-gumi aren't we?" Yahiko popped up at Kenshin's side, causing him to jump slightly.
"'Kenshin-gumi'? Who said anything about us being friends?" Saitou asked, as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
"Though you must admit that it does have a nice ring to it," Kaoru said with a dreamy expression in her eyes.
"Enough of this. If we're going to save this girl we might as well get on with it so as to get done sooner. But Kenshin if you pick up anymore side quests…" Sano's voice trailed off but he shot his friend a warning look.
Kenshin quickly got directions from the distraught man, who thanked the group and promised to never forget this great kindness and if there was anything he could do…basically, the man groveled.
"I really think that Kaoru-dono, Tokio-dono and Yahiko-kun should stay behind at the clinic that they should." Kenshin knew his idea would not go over good by the angry looks on the faces in question.
"When I said I was coming with Hajime, I meant every step of the way." Tokio shot Kenshin a glare.
"You can't leave me behind to be babysat by some old doctor. I am Kamiya Kaoru, assistant master of the Kamiya Kasshin style."
"Just because I look like a little kid doesn't mean that you can treat me like one!" Yahiko reached for his shinia in a threatening manner.
"Fine, Fine if you insistent on coming but I still think you should stay were its safe, that you should." Kenshin said with a shake of his head.
"Kenshin let's just go." Sano growled.
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To put it bluntly, the Kenshin-gumi was lost. Hopelessly and completely lost.
"Kenshin, I thought you knew where we were going!" Kaoru yelled.
"The man's directions said we had to look for a large fallen tree that pointed towards the west. Let's see, which direction is the sun supposed to set in…?" Kenshin looked around with a confused frown on his face.
"You mean to say you don't know which way is west?" Sano demanded, punching his friend in the shoulder, "What kinda wanderer are you?"
"Sano have you ever realized that I'm a wander because I get lost? If I didn't get lost I'd be a 'traveler'. But I'm not a 'traveler'; I'm a 'wander' because I can't read a map; I could never get a compass figured out and as for written or spoken directions…I always forget them or lose the paper they're written on!" Kenshin yelled, his normally calm attitude dissolving.
Suddenly Yahiko held up a hand, "Do any of you guys smell smoke? Like a cooking fire?" he asked.
They fell silent as they each tested the air. Finally Kaoru nodded, "I do. Come on!" She and Yahiko began to lead the others uphill, as the smell of smoke grew stronger the longer they walked. Finally they busted out of the forest onto a peaceful scene.
A small hut occupied the clearing as a creek babbled along beside it. It was obviously the home of a reclusive artist. "Maybe we should see if the owner of this place can give us directions." Yahiko suggested in a soft voice, reluctant to disturb the tranquility that surrounded them.
Despite his best efforts however, the tranquility was shattered.
A tall figure in a gaudy red and white cape burst out of the house and slammed the door shut, throwing a bolt of wood into the lock for good measure before he dashed over to the group and grabbed Kenshin by the front of his gi. The man, being a good deal taller then the rurouni, hauled him off his feet as he shouted into his face, "I don't care who you are or where you're going, just take me with you!" he demanded.
"Ororororo." That was the only answer Kenshin could manage as he was shaken around like a limp rag doll. Finally he found his voice, "Sensei?" he gasped.
"Oh great, it's my baka deshi," The strange man groaned as he dropped Kenshin.
"Do you know this man Himura?" Saitou asked as he eyed the man.
"Hai, he's the man who trained me. Hiko Seijuro, the 13th Master of the Hiten Misturugi Style." Kenshin replied, trying his best to straighten his gi, with little success.
"You use the Hiten Misurugi Style!" Kaoru demanded admiration clear on her face.
Kenshin nodded but Hiko spoke, "Of coarse I do, I taught this baka everything he knows and then some." He was going to go on but a strange voice rang from the hut, "Oh Seijuro, why don't you come back? I don't like it when you lock me in here all by myself." The voice had a definite pout to it.
"Who is that?" Kenshin asked as he tried to figure out just what kind of person that voice had come from. It was too high to be a man's voice, but too low to be a girl's voice. "Is that an apprentice of yours?" he inquired.
"My apprentice?" Hiko shouted, "That…that thing in there would be a disgrace to the Hiten Misturugi Style!"
"I'm not a 'thing', I'm Honjou Kamatari." Kamitari's voice, though muffled, definitely sounded annoyed.
Keshin's eyes narrowed as he remembered a list he had been given by Okubo "Honjou Kamatari. That's the name of one of Shshio's men."
"I don't care who it is. All I know is that he…she…it is a very sick person who thinks it's in love with me." Hiko snapped, glaring at the hut.
"I don't mean to interrupt this conversation, but how to did you get involved with this person?" Saitou asked.
"Some government guy told me that I'd the country a great service if I kept Kamatari away from the rest of the world, he just forgot to mention that Kamatari loved guys." Hiko sighed and reached under his cloak for a large jug of sake.
Silence, expect for the sounds of Kamatari crying and Hiko drinking, fell over the group until finally Yahiko spoke up, "Why don't you ask him about the dragon Kenshin?"
"Dragon? What dragon?" Hiko capped his sake, "There aren't any dragons on this mountain."
"What!" Sano yelled, "We came all the way up here to save some guy's daughter from a dragon, only to find out that there isn't one?"
Much to Sano's annoyance, Hiko began to laugh, "You've met Raiko I see."
"Who's Raiko?" Kenshin asked.
"Raiko's this guy who must live in that village somewhere down the mountain. He's crazy, that's the only word I can use to describe him. Every couple of weeks he suddenly starts running around screaming that his daughter's been taken by a dragon and that somebody needs to save her. All of the other villagers know he's a little strange so they just ignore him."
Kenshin's eyes grew wide, "You mean there isn't a daughter?"
Rolling his eyes, Hiko glared at his pupil, "No you baka! The only thing Raiko has that might count as a daughter is a goldfish named Cleo. I swear, only a baka like you could fall for something so stupid!"
"Hey, before you start calling my friend a baka why don't you tell us how you know all of this, seeing as you spend all of your time on this mountain with Kamatari." Sano glared at Hiko who glared back, "A friend of mine comes to visit me sometimes and he told me about Raiko. He said it was the reason why strange people would wander up to my house from time to time and would start screaming and run away as soon as I came out of the house. They must have thought I was a dragon. Bakas." Hiko muttered the last word under his breath and took another sip of his sake.
"Well I'm sorry for disturbing you but we need to be going. We're on a quest and we need to continue it. Good day." Kenshin bowed and tried to leave the clearing but Hiko's words stopped him, "I'm going with you."
"What!" Kenshin's head whipped around the fast the he hit Kaoru in the face with his pony tail.
"I'm going with you. If I stay here much longer I'm going to kill that Kamatari and that'll really make a mess in the house. Better to avoid that possibility by simply leaving." Hiko stood up and put his sake jug away.
"Shouldn't you stay here? I thought you'd been ordered to guard Kamatari and keep him from escaping." Kenshin protested.
Hiko shrugged, "I'll lock the door. There's food and supplies in the hut so it won't die and I'm sure in time it would've figured out how to escape anyways. I just want to be far away when that happens."
Saitou put an end to the argument, "Let him come. You've already got a raccoon, a little boy and a rooster in your group, why not a dragon to complete the menagerie?"
"Really I don't know…" Kenshin began but was cut off by Kaoru, "Please Kenshin? You never know when it'll be handy to have another warrior around."
"I guess so." Kenshin mumbled, finding he was unable to argue with Kaoru.
"Good. Then if it's all settled can we try to complete the quest this time?" Saitou growled, chewing on the end of his ever present cigarette.
The group quickly agreed and the Kenshin-gumi took off again with one new member.
Translations:
Baka: Idiot
Deshi: Apprentice
Hai: Yes
