Chapter Four: Propositions and Decisions
"Isurugi Raijuta, huh? Interesting guy. Sorry I missed him." Sanosuke muttered, when he'd heard the whole story of what had happened at Maekawa Dojo the day before.
"I wouldn't say 'interesting'! Maekawa Dojo is closing their doors because of him!!" Kaoru shouted, furiously, as she attacked Sanosuke with a shinai, and as he dodged every blow. He then reached out and stopped the shinai with one hand; speaking calmly to the enraged girl in front of him.
"But isn't that how it goes? Sure, Maekawa got his ass handed to him, but it was a legit match, right?" Sanosuke asked.
"B-but…………" Kaoru tried to object, but was cut off by Sanosuke.
"There's no room for 'sorta' when you run a dojo. You can't blame the other guy for being 'too strong'. Right, Kenshin? Tetsu?" Sanosuke asked, turning to the two rurouni when he said that.
"True enough, but……." Kenshin murmured.
"That man was too strong. He would have killed Maekawa-sensei yesterday if we hadn't been there." Tetsunosuke stated, grimly. He knew Kenshin was thinking along the same lines he was, since his expression was once again very serious. All looked up when another, unfamiliar voice spoke up, from the front gate.
"Excuse me, might Himura Kenshin-san be available now?" the stranger asked.
"I am Himura, de gozaru." Kenshin replied.
"Oh, very good. Here you go!" the stranger said, as he handed Kenshin an envelope.
"Invitation?" Kenshin asked, as he turned the envelope over. He heard Tetsunosuke growl when he saw that the name Isurugi Raijuta was written on the back.
"What is the meaning of this?" Kaoru asked, tensely.
"He means 'Letter of Challenge' right?" Sanosuke questioned.
"That was my thought exactly, Sano." Tetsunosuke stated, bristling at the thought.
"Alas, I am only the butler, so, in any event, I have a carriage ready outside. Do come." The stranger said, as he exited the dojo. With a little hesitation, all of those within the Kamiya Dojo followed the 'butler' to the waiting carriage and went to the place where Raijuta waited. They were all surprised when they saw that the meeting place was, in fact, a fancy mansion. Tetsunosuke listened as Sanosuke asked what Raijuta looked like and Kaoru gave him her description. They all turned when a man greeted Kenshin.
"You must be Himura-san. Thank you for coming." A soft spoken, well-dressed man said, as he walked over to them.
"Is that Raijuta?" Sanosuke again asked.
"Iie, it isn't." Kaoru replied, confused by this, for some reason.
"A pleasure to meet you. I own this house. I am Tsukayama Yuzaemon, at your service." The man said, politely.
"Tsukayama…..Are you the father of that little jerk?" Yahiko asked, getting a kick in the head from said 'little jerk' for his troubles. Tetsunosuke sighed and shook his head; how many times had he done that to his brother during the time they had been with the Shinsengumi?
"Raijuta-sensei invited Himura only! Why the heck are you here?!" Yutaro shouted, furiously, as he eyed each of those he considered his enemies, including Tetsunosuke.
"Yutaro, stop it! These are friends of the Sensei's guest. Be polite." Yuzaemon admonished, getting a prideful snort from his son as a response.
"I apologize for my son's rudeness." Yuzaemon apologized, bowing to Kenshin and the rest.
"No need." Kenshin replied, as Yahiko and Yutaro exchanged angry glares.
"The sensei is at the pond. I will lead you there. Yutaro, you entertain his friends." Yuzaemon ordered, as he started to lead Kenshin away. Tetsunosuke smirked somewhat when Yutaro grumbled under his breath a half-hearted 'Follow me', and he silently remembered what he got in return for being rude to guests when he was still Hijikata's page.
"I would have been cleaning pigsties with my bare hands for two months if I had dared to be that rude to guests! Hijikata-san would have seen to that!" Tetsunosuke thought, a slight snicker escaping from him when he saw Sanosuke unwrap the red strips from his wrists and as Yahiko took the cord off of his shinai.
"You gonna stand over there and watch, Tetsu?" Sanosuke asked.
"No." Tetsunosuke replied, as he joined the two in tying Yutaro to the tree (with Yahiko's shinai cord) and gagging the obnoxious boy with Sanosuke's wrist wraps.
"Now, let's go and catch up with Kenshin. He's probably meeting with Raijuta by now." Kaoru murmured, sounding a little more worried about the elder rurounithan she would have liked to admit. By the time they reached the pond, Tetsunosuke could see that the two men, despite their very different statures, would be even matches with one another. Without even having to strain their ears, they heard Kenshin when he tried to get an answer from Raijuta himself.
"What is it you want, Raijuta?" Kenshin asked.
"Himura…..what do you think of today's swordsmanship? Don't you believe it's weak? Starved in spirit? It's getting weaker with each passing year….And the weak will always be conquered. This is a law of nature. And so….Himura, will you not join us and the Shinko-ryu and help revive the Japanese art of swords?" Raijuta in turn asked, getting looks of shock and unease from the four who watched the confrontation.
"He's crazy! The true art of Japanese swordsmanship is killing! Why would he want to return to something that can take human lives?!" Tetsunosuke wondered, his mouth drying at the thought. He had seen so much bloodshed during the Bakumatsu, before and during his time with the Shinsengumi. And, even though he still carried a katana, he had sworn to protect life when he could, and kill when absolutely necessary…… and only when there was no other alternative.
"Are you asking me to become your student, de gozaru?" Kenshin questioned, looking just a little disturbed by that as well.
"No! To begin with, Shinko-ryu has no forms or skills. You have only to be strong. That's all we need of our members." Raijuta replied.
"Then it's not really a school. More like a league of swordsmen…." Kenshin said, voicing Tetsunosuke's thoughts exactly.
"You could call it that. I've been to every corner of Japan, fighting challenges at dojos for years. I've found precious few swordsmen worthy of Shinko-ryu. Of them all, you're the first to dodge the Izuna." Raijuta stated.
"So that's what it was! I'd heard of a sword style that used a move like the Izuna, but I never thought I would actually see or experience it!" Tetsunosuke's mind yelped, as memories of what had happened to him before he met Kenshin and the rest returned with a vengeance. He had also been approached by the ogre-like leader of the Shinko-ryu that rainy night. And, even though he had been beaten and narrowly escaped with his life, Tetsunosuke grimly smiled when he saw that he'd gotten at least one blow in. Raijuta had bandages wrapped around the top of his right arm from a sword wound.
"Even a kicked dog still has his fangs…..and knows how to use them, when things get tough." Tetsunosuke thought, then listened as Raijuta continued the conversation.
"If you join my comrades and me, we could put an end to all five hundred schools of 'modern swordsmanship'." Raijuta stated, not seeming to notice when Kenshin's eyes took on a colder sheen.
"Put an end…..?" Kenshin repeated, then said, "A minute ago you were talking about a revival."
"It is a revival! But first we have to clear out the trash! First we crush this 'shinai' fighting, the fountainhead of modern weakness!" Raijuta announced, as Kaoru and Yahiko gasped in horror. In response to this, Tetsunosuke growled; he had been right!
"Isurugi Raijuta wants nothing more than to return to the wanton killing of ten years past. If that is the case, then I have no choice but to stop him……before he hurts anyone else. Or draws the blood of his first kill." Tetsunosuke mused, refraining from standing up and announcing his own presence outright, and listening to what else Raijuta had to say.
"When that's done, we revive true kenjutsu, with Shinko-ryu setting its' standards…..And we will never weaken again, not ever! In the glory days, even before the 'Sengoku' age of warlords, swordsmen were so powerful that we were feared as magicians, 'Users of the Whirlwind'! We of Shinko-ryu will be such magicians again, and bring the whirlwind back to Japan!!" Raijuta growled. It was then that Tetsunosuke made his decision, and stole silently over to Kenshin.
"What you want, gutter trash, is nothing more than the state this country was in ten short years ago. That 'whirlwind' as you had called it, was filled with the blood of many men, not just swordsmen, mind you, but also innocent people as well. I should know, since my own parents were slaughtered by one you would have called a 'magician'." Tetsunosuke said, coldly, red-brown eyes darker than normal as he approached. Kenshin turned and gave him a surprised look, while Raijuta curled his lip in anger.
"You have no say in this, dog." Raijuta snarled.
"Is that so? It appears my sword had said otherwise, since you wear bandages on your arm from a wound. Even a dog like me can still bite." Tetsunosuke retorted, with a calm he had learned from Hijikata himself. Raijuta's eyes narrowed in contempt, then returned his attention to Kenshin.
"Only with great fighters can my cause be accomplished. Quality, not quantity. Our mission is to create an invulnerable kenjutsu, unyielding to any form of martial arts, or European firepower. Lend your strength to me, Himura." Raijuta said, as Kenshin's own eyes narrowed slightly.
"Kenshin?" Tetsunosuke asked, wondering what the other rurouni's response would be.
"Ancient kenjutsu is 'Satsujin-ken' meant for real war. Are you aware of that?" Kenshin questioned. Raijuta didn't even blink.
"Of course. But kenjutsu is the art of killing to begin with! This 'shinai kenjutsu' is a sham." Raijuta replied. It was then that Kenshin slowly turned away from the larger man and put his back to him.
"If you truly think so, then you and I will never agree, de gozaru. You already know the answer. It's been said already that killing is what I prohibit, de gozaru." Kenshin murmured.
"As do I. Do not forget that, gutter trash." Tetsunosuke growled, as he touched the katana at his hip. He wasn't in the least bit surprised when Raijuta ignored him and spoke to Kenshin instead.
"Himura, do you even care if Japanese kenjutsu dies?" Raijuta asked, trying to appeal to the swordsman within Kenshin for the answer he was seeking. There was a moment of silence, before Kenshin responded, but, when he did, Tetsunosuke could almost hear the sighs of relief from Yahiko and Kaoru in the bushes, and could feel the approving grin from Sanosuke.
"Of course. As a swordsman, the future of swords must be considered…But," Kenshin said, as he turned back around and glared at Raijuta, "If the future means a return to wanton killing, I want no part of it, de gozaru. There's no disputing kenjutsu is a combat art. Go start Shinko-ryu, if you think you must. But if you're going to crush anyone who doesn't see it your way, you must also expect me to stop you, de gozaru."
"I see…..we swordsmen are stubborn creatures, are we not? We can only communicate through our blades." Raijuta growled, as he put his hand on his sword and drew it. Uttering a low growl of his own deep in his throat, Tetsunosuke fingered his own sword, ready for a fight……at least until Kenshin stopped him.
"Tetsu-kun, please stay out of this. Be mindful of your injury." Kenshin cautioned, as he put a restraining hand on the younger rurouni's shoulder. Part of Tetsunosuke wanted to argue, but then he saw Kenshin's gold-flecked eyes and decided immediately to stand down. Something, he didn't know what, warned him about disregarding the elder rurouni's request. As he turned and watched the two warriors, Tetsunosuke realized that, unless Kenshin took Raijuta down, another revolution would only be just around the bend.
"I don't want any more children to be orphaned as I had been. If Kenshin doesn't stop him, I will have to. I am still Shinsengumi, after all…….I may not wear the uniform anymore, but I still have the duty of carrying out Aku Soku Zan…..as much as it tears me apart inside." Tetsunosuke mused, watching the standstill with as much anxiety as his companions in the treeline were.