The thing I remembered the most in my life was being alone. Everything else was a blur. I know had a mother and father. My mother died when I was young. My father trained me in the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu and left when he was drafted in the war. He never returned home, leaving me to be the Assistant Master of our family style. I had a loving mother and maybe... father was supportive.
I survived long months with very little food to eat due to my poor cooking skills and I tried to make ends meet while training other kendo fighters. Usually, this meant I had to leave my dojo and go to other dojos to teach. It was hard for me to get jobs, considering I was a female and my kendo style wasn't strong enough to defeat the masters. Only through begging and their pity, I was able to manage making a life for myself. Though most of it meant humiliating myself in front of other males. I was used as a hitting bag, and masters kept constantly reminding their students that women were weaker than men; that was why they weren't any female swordswomen.
Yet, I found it awkward how rumors whispered about me once being a fierce swordswoman. Many neighbors could have sworn that my strength could rival Battousai. But something happened... They only whispered a young mysterious man stayed with me for a couple of months before vanishing one night. That was the same night I changed.
I was more approachable. My appearance changed from a comely lady into a tomboy. And the Kamiya estate was in need of a good repair. I would have bought supplies if money was available. I already felt shamed about taking free food from Tsubame from at Akabeko. She visited me three times a week with enough food to last a whole day. The food could have lasted longer if I didn't gulp it all down like I never got exquisite food before.
It was a similar day I sat on the dojo steps. The sun was shining hotly in the dojo yard, discouraging me from practicing the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. Instead, I sulked because I lost yet another job at a dojo. When I asked them why I wasn't allowed to set foot in their dojo, they mentioned that my sword style breathed a monster who was murdering people in cold blood on Tokyo streets. I denied their accusations because the main purpose of my family's sword style was to save lives. I truly believed in my family's sword, as my strength increased when I was trying to protect someone, like the girl who rapped lightly on the open dojo gates. Tsubame Sekihara was in trouble with one of the drunk men at Akabeko. Fortunately, I was there. The drunk man had a fetish for young girls as he tried to fondle the little waitress until I intervened. I tossed the man on his ass, right outside Akabeko. He claimed he was going to get his revenge, but he still hadn't fight me. Now, Tsubame felt like it was her duty to bring me free food to thank me for the incident. Although, she long ago repaid her debt, she still came over with delicious food and who was I to turn down her offer.
"You're home again, I see," she replied as she saw me sitting dejectedly on the dojo steps.
"Yep, I lost another job," I said.
She frowned before shaking her head. "Well, maybe this food can cheer you up. I brought stew beef with vegetables and white rice. It's all freshly cooked." She raised the wrapped contents of great smelling food.
Immediately, my mood perked up. I stood up on the steps and made my way towards her. "That's my favorite!" I grabbed the bag from her hand and unwrapped them to see different types of food. I pressed my nose to it and I inhaled a deep breath. "There's nothing better than food."
"You can say that again," Tsubame laughed. We made our way inside the dojo, heading straight for the kitchen. As always, I put the containers of food on the table. Tsubame went into the kitchen and returned with bowls and chopsticks. I should have found it strange how she knew her way around the dojo but the thought disappeared when freshly smelling meat was dumped into my bowl. Without waiting for us to say a pray, I snatched my chopsticks and began scarfing through the beef. She laughed and put other types of food in the bowls before serving herself. By the time she finished, I was moving onto my second serving.
"You really have a big appetite," Tsubame commented.
"That's what you get from moving around all day," I said while chewing food at the same time.
"But you weren't doing anything when I came here," she retorted. She brought a rich piece of beef to her mouth. I didn't miss the movement. I had the urge to steal it.
"You came around at a bad time. It's too hot outside for me to do anything, anyway," I said as I shrugged my shoulders. I took the last bite of white rice in a bowl before setting it down with my chopsticks on the table. I lightly tapped my belly, feeling satisfied for the moment.
She giggled at my reaction before shaking her head. "Sometimes I swear you're like a kid."
"I can't help it. I know how to enjoy the little things in life such as food."
"I agree with you." She put her empty bowl and chopsticks on the table. There was a moment of silence; the comfortable kind that had me relishing her company in the dojo. Sometimes, I felt like she belonged here with me. But I shook the weird notion away. Tsubame had been living Akabeko for a long ago. She was the heiress to inherit it after Tae. She had been training from young how to manage such a successful business; however, Tae believed that she had to work from the bottom up.
"You know if everything gets tough, you're welcome to work at Akabeko. We are in strong need of bodyguards."
I scoffed at the idea. "I only got lucky because the bastard was drunk."
Tsubame raised an eyebrow. "But you lifted him over your shoulder as you threw him out of Akabeko. And today, that's still the talk around Tokyo."
"Yeah, please!" I waved a hand dismissively. "People only like to talk because they have nothing better to do."
"You're right," she agreed. She began to place the bowls and chopsticks in her hands before getting up with them. She balanced the delicate dishes in her arms and went into the kitchen. I got up and followed her. She placed them by the wash area. Using the water in the bucket I gathered earlier from the well, she washed the dishes. Again, the feeling that she belonged in the Kamiya dojo nagged me. I put a hand to my forehead.
"Are you okay?" she asked me. She was in front of me. Her brown doe eyes stared at me with concern. I blinked as I saw myself clearly reflecting back in her eyes. I saw my disgruntled black bangs, big blue eyes and my lips pursed into a straight line. I blinked again, before looking away from her.
"I'm okay. I'm just getting this weird feeling."
"What kind?" She put her hands on my arms in a worrying gesture. Instantly, I took a step away from her. I raised my hands to ward her away.
"It's nothing."
"Are you sure?" She didn't make movements to come to me.
"Yep," I answered, giving her one of my bright smiles. "The feeling usually goes away."
"As long as you're okay, that is all that matters. However, I can always send for Dr. Gensai."
"No thank you. He will recommend sleep and then give some horrible stuff to drink." My tongue darted out my mouth to show an "ewe" expression.
Tsubame giggled and my heart fluttered at hearing it. I didn't know how to explain the feelings I got around her. It was strange, but it was like something inside me told me that I wanted to see her happy; that she belonged in this house; that I knew her for a very long time.
I turned away with a small smile on my face. I lifted a closed fist against my chest to feel the tugging sensation in my heart. As much as I felt the weird emotions around her, I knew our first encounter was the day I saved her from getting molested by a drunk man. The funny emotions I felt was from being lonely for a long time. Although I couldn't recall how long my father left me alone, the loneliness crept within me to a point I craved for friends. The problem was people in Tokyo avoided me like a plague. The vendors I bought supplies from when I had money, did whatever it took to get me away. They learned it was best to let me buy my supplies in peace. Even the police kept close tabs on me like I was a criminal.
Sometimes, I was astonished by how the young waitress easily befriended me. Her trust meant more than the world to me. She might not have realized it, but I would do anything for her.
Her twinkling laughter subsided and she leaned against one of the tables I had in the kitchen. She looked at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression on her face. I would have paid money to know her thoughts.
"Is something wrong?" I asked her.
She shook her head. "No."
My eyebrows tugged together. "I don't believe you."
Her hands straightened her light blue kimono with butterflies on it. She averted her attention on the floor. "It's just there's some weird talk going around Tokyo."
I waved my hand in the air. "Yeah, those talks mean nothing." I would definitely know about it because I was in the center of those talks.
"This one might mean something. It has something to do about your dojo."
"Really?" I asked. My interest was piqued.
"There's a man whose been killing people in Tokyo and he's using your family's name." I heard the same news from the dojo that refused me.
"Don't worry about this man. I don't have students anymore. I lost them..." The strange part was I couldn't recall if I had any students in the Kamiya dojo. I raised a hand and scratched my head before turning my back on Tsubame. I walked out of the kitchen into the dojo hall. The Kamiya emblem was hanging right at the main entrance. I bowed before it and went inside. Tsubame followed me while remaining quiet. I stopped in front of list of names inscribed on wooden boards and stared at them for a moment. "So I did have students," I said with a bitterness in my tone.
"I'm sorry," the little waitress apologized beside me.
"You have nothing to apologize for."
"I do." Her voice sounded hoarse. Then I saw a tear run down her face. I almost panicked. I could console myself but not other people.
"No, you don't." I raised my hands in the air. I didn't know if I should pat her on her shoulders, hug her or apologize for my lack of social skills.
"I didn't realize-."
"That I was lonely," I interrupted her. "It's no problem. Eventually, I got used to it."
"But no one should ever feel lonely."
"I'm not lonely anymore. I have you. And people love to talk about me, which makes me less lonely," I tried my best to cheer her up. "Besides I always look forward to your visits. You bring my favorite food."
She smiled through her tears. "I'm glad you didn't burn down the dojo yet."
"I say that to myself every day." I returned her smile. "Now, tell me more about the rumor."
"This man who kills people has a name."
"Well, that name can't be famous like the samurai who forever changed the Bakumatsu."
Tsubame stilled. Her eyes widened as tears left wet trails on her cheeks.
"Tsubame, the way you act, you make me think Battousai the manslayer is here in Tokyo."
Words didn't come out her mouth. Instead, she nodded her head.
And I froze. My heart thundered in my ears. Only one word left me. "What?"
"You didn't know?" she asked. She looked confused. Her eyes were looking everywhere in the kitchen but me.
"I knew there was someone using my school's name for their reason to murder but I didn't think Battousai would stoop so low." I sat down the wooden floor and crossed my legs together while I put a closed fist under my chin. I thought about the stories that were commonly thought about Battousai, the manslayer who carved a new era with his sword. He was an assassin who killed people in the shadows. No one really saw his face but then again, did the stories make sense?
I mean rumors spread about him having red hair like the blood he spilled. His eyes were burning yellow suns that even the night couldn't veil them. And he sported a cross shape scar on his left cheek. Yet for rumors to spread about his physical appearance meant that someone saw him and survived to tell the tale about him.
"I don't think it's about stooping so low," Tsubame said cautiously.
"Then there's something fishy about the whole ordeal." I tilted my head back to look at the young waitress who was stubbing her toes against the wooden floor. "Battousai doesn't seem like the man who would kill people and announce himself to the world. Even the rumors talked about him slaying people in the shadows and then he disappeared after the Bakumatsu."
Tsubame's eyebrows tugged together on her pretty face. "You do have a point."
"And why would Battousai kill people who are part of the new government? Didn't he fight so that this country will become a better place?" I further questioned. "But then again, perhaps he's not happy what he sees. Not everyone gets to live a happier life." I could consider myself as one of those people. At least Tsubame had something to look forward in her life.
"Do you really think that's good enough for him to kill?" she asked.
I put a hand on my lap while tilting my head further back to stare up at the ceiling. "No. Again, it doesn't justify his reasons to kill people. Who did he attack?"
The girl lowered her head as if deep thought. "He attacked officers and anyone else who was there at the scene."
"Hmm... It makes sense that he will slay other people around him. If I were an assassin, I will leave no witnesses."
Somehow I sensed the waitress' shiver. Her ki, which I learned not too long that every living gave off, had a slight shift. I frowned how different it felt from other ki's I had encountered. It seemed heavier, almost stronger. Anyone who could sense ki, wouldn't miss hers. It was noticeable.
"Not that I'm saying that killing is right in any way or form. I abhor killing. But he's reckless. He attacks when other people are around. The Battousai from the Bakumatsu would never make such an error."
"Unless he's rusty."
I shook my head, turning my attention to her. Instantly, I noticed her ki slithered back too normal but I didn't mention it. "A manslayer like Battousai won't get rusty easily. The only way he will turn soft is if he put down his sword since the Bakumatsu and never used it again. Most likely that didn't happen." I witnessed many samurais who were arrested because they still carried their swords in public during peaceful times. It was sad to watch the officers beat them into submission to relinquish their swords. For a samurai to give up his sword was like asking him to give up his life.
For a moment, I glanced behind me. The dojo was a few feet away from me. I couldn't imagine giving up swordsmanship. Although I have been ridicule for being a female who taught kendo, kendo was a big part of my life. Besides, how many women could say they could protect themselves? I couldn't fight everything, but I had a small sense of pride to be able to stand tall with my bokken at my side. I felt strong, confident, and independent.
The last part -independence- was forced into me. I had no choice but to be alone.
"You're onto something," the girl replied, breaking my reverie. I turned to her with a cheeky smile. I swear I love this girl! She was intelligent as well as an amazing cook.
But the smile quickly disappeared as I crossed my hands over my chest. I bowed my head until my chin touched my upper part of my chest. "But doesn't change the fact that someone is defaming my school."
Tsubame knelt down before me. She placed her small hands on my shoulders. "I don't like where this is going."
"You have a right not to like it," she said. I glanced up at her. I could see concern deeply etched in her brown eyes. I wanted to smile brightly and lie about not getting involve in the situation but the problem was suspicious and sticky. No matter which angle I looked at it, I was involved. The Kamiya Kasshin Ryu was spreading around Tokyo of teaching a murderer. Yet the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu was a sword style that believed in protecting others. It went against taking lives.
Whoever was killing people had issues with my school.
"Do you have to look into it?" she asked.
"I see no other choice. I am Assistant Master to the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. I am involved whether I like it or not."
"But that means you're going to get hurt," she protested.
I gave her a stern expression. "You should have more faith in me."
"I do. You fight with honor. The other person is a heartless killer. "
"No matter what, I have to fight the person. I can't stand back and let him sully my school anymore. If he continues to murder people using my school's name, I will lose my livelihood to survive. Plus, there are many innocent people getting hurt."
"Kaoru, let the officers handle this," the young girl said with desperation. She clutched tightly to my hand. A part of me wanted to shove her hand away from me. Another part wanted to pull her in for a hug.
Instead, I settled for awkwardly patting her hand to comfort her. I didn't think my gesture worked. "They're trying and failing miserably. Perhaps they need someone from the outside to stand up to this man who calls himself Battousai."
"And if he's really the Battousai," she rebutted. This girl really didn't know when to give up!
My frame shivered in fear with such a thought. She must have felt it because her grip tightened. "Again, I have no choice. It seems I have been fated to fight this battle. And if I do face Battousai, then it's all fated to happen. I did learn ago not to fight fate but to accept it."
Little did I know how those words were going to haunt me.
The girl suddenly let go of my hand and shifted away from me. "Is there no other way I can change your mind."
I shook my head. I put a hand on her shoulder. "Let me handle this because I am an Assistant Master of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu."
She slowly nodded her head but when she lifted her head, I was stunned by the tears flowing down her cheeks. Then, her words shocked me into silence. "And it's something that your father would have done as well." She placed a hand on top of mine. "Just be careful, Kaoru."
I would have answer her but words got caught in my throat. Again, a sense of familiarity hit me. Any other person who dared to lay a hand on me would have seen the other end of the room but not this girl. It was as if she had some power over me. I couldn't harm her. Instead, all my instincts called to me protect her and make her happy. Who was I to deny her? And when she said that father would have done the same thing in my position, she talked as if she knew him. That was impossible. She would have been too young, a child, considering she was a preteen.
I slightly shook my head and gently removed her hand from my shoulder. Why did everything feel strange?
Instead, I shifted the topic to a safe one. "Thanks for the delicious food," I said as I stood up and stretched my arms above my head.
The waitress lips upturned into a small smile. "No problem. I'm happy to always bring food for you."
I side glanced at her and grinned. "I don't mind but remember I don't want to hear Tae complaining about how you're missing work."
The girl gathered her stuff and went into the dojo. "She won't do that or more like can't do that." But the other words she muttered left me feeling all muddled. "Besides, you're more important than anyone else." How was I suppose to answer to that? I didn't think she wanted me to hear her. So I opted to pretend I didn't hear her as I strolled with her out of the Kamiya residence.
I had a niggling feeling to stay by the girl's side so I found myself walking with her back to Akabeko. It didn't matter if I left the Kamiya dojo gates open. I already knew that no one who lived in Tokyo residence would walk inside the estate. Maybe having a dark reputation was a good thing.
I smiled, even waving off the girl's persistence to lock the gates, to walk her back to our family's restaurant. The stroll was a short one. Besides, what can happen between the time frame from then to now?
The streets were lively with markets. The shopping districts gathered people from all different parts of Tokyo. But it was also these streets that harbored shady characters. I didn't like the waitress walking through the dangerous streets to get back to work. I frowned. Sometimes, I had to wonder how did the girl make it to me unscathed. A lot of people acknowledged that she was friends with me. That meant she was also targeted by people who didn't like me. Even walking through the lively markets, I could feel dark stares of people. I noticed how they kept their distance, careful not to bump into us. Some were bold enough to stop and stare at us like the short man wearing an unusual shade of pink gi with a dirtied light hakama -which was suppose to be white- and a huge straw hat that partially covered his face but didn't hide the white bandage on his left cheek. Parts of his gi and hakama were ripped and were sewn over with other strips of fabric that didn't match his outfit. Then, as if he observed me glancing at him, he lifted a hand to his straw hat and deliberately lowered it. A raven haired woman wearing a fancy pink kimono with yellow circles passed by him and he suddenly disappeared.
Through my years of kendo training, for him to disappear in a second meant he was a warrior.
But for him to be garbed in a pink gi, he was quite an odd one.
Discreetly, I glanced at the brunette girl walking beside me. Her head was bent. Her shoulders were hunched over. My forehead creased with more with wrinkles. The niggling feeling came back with full force to a point I stopped moving. Tsubame didn't notice until she bumped into a large burly figure. Immediately, her head snapped up to look at who halted her movement. She was caught up in her thoughts that she didn't see me pause.
The man she bumped into glared at her before he snarled and pushed at her. Immediately, my hand darted to my hip to feel nothing.
"Shucks!" I berated myself. "How stupid of me to forget my bokken?"
But I surmised that I've been to and from the market streets and never once did I encounter a possible fight with one of the Tokyo residents. They usually evaded me with ease, leaving me to do my own thing, although I could feel their uneasy stares.
"Can't you see where you're going?" the man yelled at her.
"I'm sorry," the waitress apologized and bowed before him.
I stretched my hand out to pull her back to me when he suddenly grabbed her by the ends of her kimono at her chest area and heaved her easily into the air. I heard audible gasps around me as folks began to crowd around us. All their eyes were on them as I became a part of the crowd.
"You should say that again," he bellowed, "And next time think twice about how you walk through the streets."
"She deserves that," a woman whispered from next to me. It seemed she forgot who I was. "She needs someone to put her in her place."
"Do you see the company she keeps?" the old man said from beside her. "I can't believe we just let her walk the streets."
"It's only because she's wealthy. She's the next heiress to the fortune of a restaurant," someone else said.
"Well, just because she has money doesn't mean she can flaunt her status."
"Where's the wasp she was walking with?" So someone remembered I was with her.
"Right here," I replied with ease. My tone was sharp as I stepped forward. People looked at me with alarm as they made a path to the center of the circle. Some even flinched at how close I was to them.
I slowly made my way to the opening they left for me until what I saw waiting there caused anger to heat in my blood. Tsubame was on the ground, cowering in fear from the older man. There was a luscious grin as his dark eyes heated at the sight of her. I looked toward the girl and more anger boiled in my veins. Her kimono was gaping open for the public to see the bindings wrapped around her breasts. My eyes narrowed as lecherous calls were being sent to the girl.
A tingling sensation spread across my fingers. It spread from my fingers to my shoulders as I turn my glare towards the crowd. I didn't like how the crowd let a helpless girl be molested while they cheered it on. Such a vile act deserved punishment.
A gust of wind blew at my hair. Slowly and deliberately I made my way toward the bent girl, who was futilely pulling her kimono together. Her hands were shaking so badly that I heard malicious laughter. Some women looked on with glee in their dark eyes. My footsteps made crunchy sounds that the large man looked in my direction. When his black eyes landed on me, I saw them almost bulged.
So he recognized me.
Then he blinked and he glanced down at my body before a smirk tugged upward on his lips. "Look who else decided to play." He spoke with confidence as his eyes gleamed.
"You're one to talk so big," I replied with force. I step in front of the brunette, blocking his line of vision.
"No bitch, you're talking so big when you don't have a weapon on you," he retorted.
His smirk turned into a big grin until I could see all his white teeth. The whiteness was such a huge contrast to his long black beard. His hand reach for his sword, his fingers curling around the hilt. With his other hand, he brought the sheathed sword in front of him. With his thumb, the sword moved out of its sheathe with a click. Instantly, the sunlight flickered on the sharp edge of steel.
I knew my fighting chances facing him without a weapon was slim but I refused to back down when my friend was in trouble.
And the feeling that bothered me began to swarm inside me. My fingers wiggled as the wind blew through my fingers. The tingling sensation began to prickle. My hair blew at all directions around me. Again, I heard gasps as my voice became as strong as steel. "If you think your sword is going to stop me from beating you shitless, you have another thing coming. The Kamiya Kasshin Ryu teaches one how to fight without a sword."
His eyes bulged again. The gasps turned into fear. People stepped back as they sensed a different side of me. For some reason the wind seemed to be blowing stronger.
"The Kamiya Kasshin Ryu," he whispered. Was there uncertainty in his tone?
Something flickered in his black eyes. I couldn't discern the emotion. A whistle sound sounded in the air. His sword went back in it's sheathe as he turned his attention elsewhere. The crowd closer to me dispersed.
"Bitch, this isn't over," he warned before he dashed behind some of the vendors. Automatically, I pivoted on my left foot to see Tsubame's closed fists over her chest. She was breathing heavily as she was looking at me with teary eyes.
"Kaoru," she said my name before she ran to me. Her thin arms wrapped around my frame as she buried her head in my bosom.
"Are you okay?" I asked her, awkwardly patting her head.
"I am now. I was just scared that you might have to fight him," she confessed. Even I was scared that I might have to fight as well and if I did, I would have lost.
When she pulled away from me, I observed I didn't feel the wind anymore. My eyebrows tugged together. For such a hot day, there wasn't much of a breeze but for an instant, I feel like my body was being incased by wind. Was that possible?
"Kaoru, come on!" The girl was tugging me away from the crowd. The whistle was getting louder and clearer. The officers were getting closer. "We need to get out of here!"
She was right. If we stayed, although I didn't carry a weapon, I would be thrown in jail much to happiness of the people in the market place. And who knows what will become of the waitress.
My feet started to move but the man wearing the pink gi and the dirty hakama from earlier caught my eye. His head was high enough for me to spot red around his face. Golden eyes flashed beneath the brim of his straw hat. My eyes widened and I turned full face in his direction while Tsubame pulled at my arm. I kept him within my sight until he somehow blended within the crowd.
We were almost out of reach from the dispersing crowd. I craned my neck over my shoulder to see the empty spot. I blinked and the spot was occupied by a tanned boy. His hand reaching into the gi of one of the shoppers at a vending stall.
Then, I had no choice but to turn my head forward and keep my feet moving while we escaped from the officers.
AN: Sorry for the miscalculation. This is already an existing chapter but I added a Preface, in the beginning of it, so I can give you readers an idea what to look for. The next chapter will be Kenshin's and Kaoru's first meeting. Keep a look out for it. Thanks for reading. :)