Okay, thought maybe it was time for another update. Thanks to Scarred Sword Heart for reviewing, and yes, he is a little mercenary who deserved what he got. As for my other readers, it doesn't really matter if you review or not as long as someone does each chapter. I mean, I have to know what at least one of you thought. Hope you enjoy!
Yahiko paused for a moment to set down the bags he was carrying. After some consideration, he and Megumi had decided to continue through the night, and it was beginning to take its toll. At some time during the monotonous walking he had taken both of Megumi's bags so she could walk unfettered, but even now he still had to fall back to her pace.
"Megumi-dono, we'll be in Tokyo after a few more hours, we can stop to take a break," he said, stretching his tired shoulders.
"That's fine Yahiko-kun. Besides, now that the sun is up I doubt anything more will happen," she replied, sitting down on a small boulder near the roadside.
The two looked off down the road, they could see Tokyo as a dark smudge on the horizon. Turning back to Megumi, Yahiko posed the question that had been nagging at him since the previous nightfall,
"I already said I don't know why they attacked us, but I've been wondering if you might," he said, his voice trailing off.
The audacity of the question seemed much worse when he asked it aloud.
"Are you saying you think they knew me from when I was in the opium trade," she asked, not bothering to look at him.
"I know you don't do it anymore," Yahiko said quickly, "I just thought that maybe they-"
"Normally I would agree with you," she said, cutting him off, "but considering that they waited until you were gone, along with the fact they didn't mention anything about opium, makes me think that's not what they wanted. Besides…there's always the nature of my visit to consider…"
Yahiko stared at her and then looked back at the distant city, "Yeah…Kaoru thinks I haven't noticed, but he's been getting pretty bad lately."
"Which is why we really don't have time for breaks," Megumi said, quickly standing and picking up two bags from Yahiko's pile.
Yahiko nodded and lifted his own, stepping off of the grass and onto the road to Tokyo once again.
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Kaoru walked down the road with Ota and Hikaru at her sides; both were carrying buckets laden with what she had bought at the market.
"And another thing," she said, continuing the lecture she had been giving them on their respective kendo skill, "even though we use shinai in the dojo, I know that at least you have a katana Hikaru. When we found you in the market place, I noticed that you used the blade to block."
"So," Hikaru commented, adjusting the heavy buckets that hung over each shoulder, "does it matter what you block with?"
"Yes, it does. You were lucky that time because his sword was much cheaper than yours, but if you were to do that in a fight with someone who has a sword that's nicer than yours, you'd be in a lot of trouble," she replied.
"How," he asked, raising an eyebrow as he waited for an explanation.
"What are sword blades meant for," she asked, looking over at him.
"Cutting your opponent would be the obvious answer," he said.
"Correct, but you can also cut your opponent's sword, especially if you strike the blade," she continued, holding out both hands to demonstrate as she brought them against each other, "If you've ever seen two samurai after a long battle, their blades tend to have cracks in them from where they struck and neither of them bothered to turn his blade and block with the flat. If you don't start learning how to do that you'll be useless in a fight with real swords."
Hikaru nodded as he asked another question, "Okay, but that means the other person has to be careful too, right?"
"Usually, but not always," she answered, "A good example of an exception would be Yahiko."
"He's the kid who usually helps you at the dojo isn't he," Hikaru asked.
"Right," Kaoru responded.
"So why doesn't he have to block like other people? Is he that good," Hikaru asked, looking over at Ota, who didn't bother to respond.
"His skill is a whole other topic," Kaoru said, "What I'm talking about is his sword. The sakabato he uses isn't made for cutting, but smashing and breaking bones. I guess you could say it's used to make sure you cause damage without killing someone. Because of this, he can ignore the usual blocking rule and focus on attacking, as well as trying to break his opponent's sword in two."
"That's almost sounds more useful than a normal sword," Hikaru said, looking down at the katana at his side, "where did he get it?"
"It used to be Kenshin's, and it is useful, but only for a skilled user who doesn't want to kill anyone. Its dull edge makes it hard to use correctly in a fight, and if you aren't skilled enough then you won't know where to hit them. Unlike a normal sword, a beginner can't just hack and slash away hoping he'll catch a piece of whoever he's fighting."
Hikaru furrowed his eyebrows, "It sounds confusing."
"It is, which is why for now you should stick to doing what I tell you and block with the flat," she said with a smile.
Hikaru sighed, "Sounds good to me. I wouldn't want my sword to break; my mother gave it to me."
"Where do you live anyway," Kaoru inquired.
"Nowhere, actually. My mother died last year, shortly after she gave it to me," he answered, "and I've just been wandering around since then."
"I'm sorry," Kaoru said, "what happened to you father?"
"I never knew him really, but I know that he's dead as well. It happened three or four years ago I think," he said, looking over at her.
"You can stay at the dojo as long as you want, you're picking up Kamiya Kasshin-Ryu pretty fast," she assured him, "and, I was wondering if you would let Kenshin take a look at your sword when we get back to the dojo. I said you'd be in trouble if you fought with someone who had a nicer blade, but I really don't know how good that sword is to begin with."
Hikaru shrugged, "I don't think it will matter. We didn't make a lot, so it can't be that nice."
"I just thought he should take a look," she said, picking up the pace a bit as they continued on their way.
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Yahiko set the bags down on the table and heaved a sigh, "It is so good to be back!"
Megumi nodded and looked around the empty house, "Yes, it's nice being back here, but where is Ken-san? It's getting late, if Kaoru is out on her rounds he should be here, right?"
"Yeah, he should be around here somewhere," Yahiko said over his shoulder, looking through the bedrooms and kitchen.
"Oh, I guess we'll just have to-" Megumi began, stopping as she turned to look at the front entrance.
Yahiko came into the room as he heard her stifle a laugh. Kenshin was standing in the doorway holding a very wet Kenji wrapped in a towel.
"Oro," he said, looking at the two of them with a strange expression on his face.
Kenji took one look at Yahiko and immediately jumped down to walk over and find out what had happened to him for the whole week.
"Kenji," Kenshin said, chasing after him as the towel fell to the floor, "you can't do that, you're not wearing anything."
Yahiko picked Kenji up and handed him back to Kenshin, "No, he definitely isn't."
Kenshin wrapped him in the towel before turning to Megumi, "Megumi-dono, we weren't expecting you until tomorrow. I would have had the bath ready if I'd known."
"That's fine Ken-san, our early arrival is actually what we need to talk to you about," she answered, smiling down at Kenji who was staring up at her.
"Really," he asked, "what happened?"
"We can wait until Kaoru gets back," she replied, "in the meantime, I would love to see him."
She held out her arms and Kenshin handed over Kenji, who looked less than pleased about the transferal.
"He looks just like you," she exclaimed, looking at Kenji as he stared back, tears welling up in his eyes.
"Yeah, but he acts nothing like him," Yahiko added, leaning up against the wall, "I think it's the hair."
Megumi held Kenji close and a surprised expression adorned his features before spreading into a smile as he laid his head on her shoulder.
"Speaking of hair, you cut yours," she said, walking over to examine Kenshin's hair, which now barely brushed the base of his neck.
"Yes," he said with a smile, "this one thought it would be better. There is less to grab onto."
As if to show Megumi how wrong he was, Kenji perked up and reached over, grabbing a fistful of Kenshin's red hair.
"Yes, this used to be his favorite pastime, until he found what happens when water meets earth," he said, moving his head around much to Kenji's delight.
"I'm assuming that's what you were seeing to when we arrived," Megumi asked, handing him back to Kenshin.
"Yes, as I said I would have had a bath ready had I known you were coming, but he was rather messy and I wanted him cleaned off before Kaoru arrived," he said, walking into one of the bedrooms, emerging a few moments later with Kenji trailing behind him dressed in a small night shirt.
"So where's Kaoru," Yahiko asked.
"She went to the market with Ota and Hikaru," Kenshin replied.
Yahiko raised an eyebrow, "Ota and who?"
"Hikaru," Kenshin said as he began to take the laundry down, "we found him in the market a few days ago. Some of the Yakuza were giving him trouble, so we said he could stay here for a while. He's about your age, and he seems to have taken a liking to Kamiya Kasshin-Ryu."
"Alright," Yahiko said with a smile, "someone to practice with besides Kaoru."
"Actually, this one would think so. He isn't quite up to your level yet, or anyone's for that matter," Kenshin said, inspecting the shirt he held in front of him.
"Ah, whatever," Yahiko said, "so when is she supposed to get back?"
"Anytime now would be my guess," Kenshin replied.
After a few minutes Megumi broke the silence, "So, where is that idiot these days anyway?"
"This one would assume you're talking about Sano," Kenshin said, "The last we heard he was in Mongolia."
"He's still in Mongolia? I thought he said he was coming back for a visit soon. He better not be getting into too many fights," she said, crossing her arms at the thought of Sanosuke breaking his hand yet again.
At that moment Kenji let out a shriek of joy and toddled of towards the front entrance as Kaoru, Ota, and Hikaru came through into the dojo grounds.
"Kenji," Kaoru said with a smile, picking him up as he clung top her leg, "I hope you were good while I was gone."
Kenshin laughed nervously and walked over to pick up the food she had set down. Kaoru looked over at Megumi and Yahiko, a slightly worried expression on her features.
"Megumi, I thought you wouldn't be here until tomorrow. Did something happen," she asked, walking over to greet them.
"Yes, but I would prefer we talk about it later. Besides, I doubt he can sit still long enough for us to explain what happened," Megumi responded, looking down at Kenji.
Kaoru rolled her eyes, "Yes, you're right about that. He can't sit still for five minutes without deciding there's something new that needs his attention."
Megumi laughed and Kaoru turned to Yahiko as the group began to head inside, "Yahiko, I expect you to be ready by tomorrow to start going on rounds again."
Yahiko groaned, but nodded as he took the buckets that Kenshin had been holding. He knew with all of the students she had now, Kaoru probably had a rough week.
"And Kenshin, would you mind taking a look at Hikaru's sword? We were talking about blocking techniques on the way home and I was wondering about his sword," Kaoru added, walking into Kenji's room to see if he would go to bed for her.
"Of course," Kenshin replied, heading off to the kitchen before coming back to examine Hikaru's katana.
"I already told her it wasn't very good," Hikaru said, handing over the sword.
After a few minutes Kenshin handed it back, "Yes, I'm afraid you're right. This sword is quite old, and being of an average make to begin with, it may not hold up very well in real fight."
"That's fine," Hikaru assured, "I knew it couldn't be very good."
"Just thought I'd ask," Kaoru said, emerging from Kenji's room and quietly sliding the door shut, "Now would you mind telling us what's going on?"
A few minutes later the group was on the small back deck, sitting around as Kaoru and Megumi brought out tea. As Kaoru took her seat Megumi looked over at Yahiko and began to speak.
"We left Aizu at noon, after a slight delay," she began, shooting a glance at Yahiko, "and we were getting ready to stop for the night. Yahiko-kun heard something and when he left, four Yakuza showed up."
Kenshin smiled as he replied, "Megumi-dono, this one would expect something like that to happen if you were to travel alone."
"That's why we sent Yahiko to escort you back," Kaoru added, sliding a bit closer to Kenshin as a cool breeze whispered through the dojo grounds.
"I know," Megumi continued, "but-"
"You weren't hurt, were you," Kaoru asked, a worried look spreading across her face before she looked over at Yahiko.
"No, Yahiko-kun was…unexpected. They were all on the ground in less than ten seconds, but it wasn't what they did that worried us. It was what they said," Megumi replied.
"Megumi," Kaoru said, "you know how the Yakuza are, they'll say anything when you've got them on the ground with nowhere to run. Whatever they said, it would be safe to just ignore it."
"They knew who we were," Megumi said, looking over at Yahiko.
"What," Kaoru asked, both her and Kenshin's faces becoming serious.
"The last one Yahiko dealt with, on his way out he said he forgot to watch out for the Kamiya kid. Kaoru, they knew who we were and where we were going. It wasn't one of their usual stunts," Megumi answered.
After a few minutes Kenshin spoke, "Do you know why they were waiting for you, Megumi-dono?"
"No, neither of us have any idea. Yahiko says he can't remember them, and I know they're not from the opium trade." Megumi said, looking over at Yahiko.
"They weren't anything to worry about, but I'm afraid someone higher up might have given them their orders," he said.
"Yes," Kenshin agreed, "this isn't like the Yakuza. I'm sure that whatever it is they want, we'll find out soon enough."
"And I suppose there's nothing we can do until then," Megumi sighed, looking up at the summer's night sky.
"No, there isn't," Kaoru said, "so until then we-"
She stopped as a distant pounding was heard on the dojo's front gates.
"I wonder who would be here this late," Yahiko said, his hand reaching back for his sakabato.
Kaoru face contorted as she stood, walking off around the side of the dojo, "If they wake up Kenji I swear I'll…"
Her voice trailed off as she left the rest of them to ponder the horrible fate of whoever was unfortunate enough to wake up the sleeping toddler. They followed her around the side and upon arriving at the gates found her talking to a very tired looking messenger. She thanked him and turned around, a letter in her hand.
"Ota, it's for you," she said, closing the dojo gates.
Ota frowned slightly as he took the letter and unfolded it. They watched as his frown deepened and his hand went to the shinai on his back. He read through the letter a few more times before allowing his hand to drop to his side.
Ota…what is it," Kaoru asked apprehensively.
"It's from Uki..." he said, his eyes narrowing as he fought against his emotions, "…dad's dead."
And so we finally start getting into the plot of this fic! Hope you liked it, and like I said, one review would be nice just so I can tell how you liked it. However, I won't complain if more of you decide to review, so until next update,
Twilight Rurouni