Kenshin & Familiar Of Zero: The Wandering Familiar
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I do not own Familiar Of Zero or Rorouni Kenshin/Samurai X
AN: Hello again to everyone reading my story, and thank you to the people that have left me reviews.
*Action*
"Dialogue"
'Inner thoughts'
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Chapter Seven
The Fall Of A Kingdom Pt. 1
The following morning.
Tabitha was about to finish getting dressed when she pauses. She looks at the ribbon that she wears with her school uniform.
Kenshin notices her pause.
"Is something the matter, miss Tabitha?"
She gives him a soft smile and shakes her head. After that, she slowly walks over to him and reaches toward his sword.
He stops himself from instantly backing away and gives her his trust.
She reaches out with the hand that was holding the ribbon and she ties it to the hilt of his sword. She has a slight blush on her cheeks as she done this.
"What is this for?"
"Aren't women supposed to give their knight something for luck and so that they come back alive?"
"I'm not sure about knights, but women do such things where I come from."
After an awkward moment of silence, Kenshin speaks again.
"Thank you."
She nods while looking away.
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The ride to Tabitha's home was very strenuous and it could be cut through with a knife. The entire trip was spent making meaningless chit-chat to keep suspicions low for anyone that would be using enhanced hearing to listen in the carriage's cabin.
Tabitha notices something as they pass by Lagdorian lake (a lake along the border of Tristan and Galia).
'Hmmm. That lake seems to be bigger than what I remember it being before.' Tabitha notes to herself.
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A couple days later.
Tabitha goes over what Kenshin had gone over with her before they started on their journey.
'When you are at your mansion. I will not be there. The only people you can trust are yourself and Kirche. You cannot trust anyone else. I would not put it past Joseph to have a spy amidst the staff. Even the people you think you can trust at the mansion could be spies/assassins.'
As she remembers this, she looks to Kenshin and Kirche very stoically.
'Looking at them, especially Kenshin for some reason, makes me feel calm. They are here for me. My best friend will help me protect my mother. I know that I haven't known Kenshin for all that long, but I know I can trust him. A lot of this mission is riding on him, but I somehow how that he can do it.'
Just as she thinks this, the carriage slowly comes to a halt.
"We're here." She announces.
The driver of the carriage gets down from the top and opens the door for everyone.
Tabitha and Kirche are the first to get out. Just as they turn their heads to watch him get out of the carriage, he jumps out and takes off in the direction of the palace without even uttering a word. His runes glows and a breeze follows his path as he runs.
Tabitha feels slightly down from his lack of parting words, but she understands.
'That's not fair to her. Everyone knows that the hero is supposed to have some kind of farewell, even if it is just a kiss.' Kirche thinks to herself.
As the two of them approach the mansion, the front double doors open. The main trusted butler is standing there with a smile on his face to greet them. Two maids are holding the doors.
They all give her a bow.
"Hello, lady Tabitha. It is good to see you again. It has been a while. Would you like anything to eat or drink? I see you have brought a friend along."
He narrows his eyes as they dart back and forth.
"Wasn't there a young man with you just a moment ago?" He asks.
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After traveling for a rather long time at the speed he was going, he feels a sudden urge coming over him and he slows down to a stop in a nearby forest area.
He drops to his hands and knees and vomits uncontrollably. The burn from it stings his throat and there is also the familiar taste of blood within his mouth.
He pants a number of times after he finishes and spits a few times.
'Everything aches. I cannot let this stop me though. I have to keep moving forward. I shall sit a few minutes and then get back on my way.'
Trying to relax his body, he sits and rests his back against the tree he was next to.
Even though his body is utterly exhausted, his senses pick up on a presence with ill intent.
He forcefully shifts his body to the right and manages to barely dodge and arrow that gets impaled into the tree.
'That arrow was completely silent. Maybe there was some kind of magic mixed with it. I can usually pick on the sound of an arrow.'
"That was pretty good." A voice tells him.
The voice seemed to have come from all around him.
'Damn. I can't pinpoint his location.'
Trying to get past the pains from all over his body, Kenshin focuses on his surroundings and getting back to his instincts as an assassin.
Kenshin catches a small gleam from another arrow at it comes at him from a different direction than the last one. He swiftly draws his sword and deflects the arrow.
"I have to admit, you are quite tenacious. I didn't have much time to prepare for your arrival."
'Prepare for my arrival? He must have been sent by Joseph. I knew that they would try to prepare for me.'
"It would be best if you just let me go without a fight. I would rather not shed more blood than I have to." Kenshin tells the man.
"You sound like someone that has an occupation just like mine, an assassin." The assassin replies.
A series of arrows get shot at Kenshin, causing him to move back from one direction to another, barely dodging them. A third arrow causes him to activate a trip-wired trap and there is an explosion. The explosion flings him back and a shard from a tree impales his left shoulder. He quickly yanks it out and tosses it at the ground.
'He set up explosives as well. Hopefully he wasn't able to set up too many of those. If I get too careless, it could be the end of me before I even get to the castle. I cannot allow myself to die here, that I cannot.'
Amidst the smoke, he slashes at several trees. As one falls, another explosion is heard.
"That was pretty clever of you. That also must be a pretty sharp sword that you have there. It's going to be a shame to kill you, but it will also be a lot of fun. I haven't had a truly good opponent in a long time. Even the late king wasn't all that much fun. It's not like I got to actually battle him up close though. But, that's the life of an assassin."
Kenshin shakes his head.
'He was the one that killed Tabitha's father.'
"I never once thought of being an assassin as fun. Now I know that I have to kill you though."
"Oh? And what happened to not wanting to shed more blood?"
"I despise men that kill for fun, that I do. But I will not allow the person that killed Miss Tabitha's father to live."
The other assassin laughs.
"That's rich, considering your position."
During a faint moment of pause, Kenshin hears slight muttering as the assassin casts a spell.
'I've got him. That must be how he's getting around. He must be casting different spells every time he switches between talking and moving. He must be pretty confident in himself to waste spells like that.'
Kenshin launches many wind blades as he uses his ryusosen technique. The technique sends a flurry of wind blades into the trees and bushes. Amidst the confusion, Kenshin ducks behind another tree.
"Is that the best you can do, assassin?" Kenshin probes.
Kenshin focuses again and he hears the assassin casting a spell again. He instantly rushes for him.
"Gah!" The man shouts and he jumps up into a tree. He casts another spell and he bgins flying into the air.
"Now how are you going to get me?" He boasts at Kenshin.
Kenshin gets a determined look on his face. Then he jumps and repels himself off of one tree and into another. Kenshin hollers out as he thrusts his sword upward with both hands. The strikeinstantly kills him as it passes through the man's lower jaw and through the top of his head. Blood drains down onto Kenshin as they come back down.
After he pulls the sword out from the corpse, he gives it a quick fling to shake off the blood and sheathes it.
"It's time to move on."
He gets back on his trek to the palace.
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With nightfall giving him cover, he approaches the palace without hesitation.
Even with his cover though, he is still spotted, and horns are blown.
Several mages along the top of the palace walls hurl fireballs in his direction. He quickly evades them with his speed.
Several guards laugh at the idea that one lone man is trying to invade the palace.
A couple dozen guards exit out of the palace's outer gate and the gate lowers behind them.
Kenshin heads directly into the onslaught of guards, mercilessly taking them on. Several of them fall at one time when he uses the ryukansen. He does a spin with his sword. With the guards quickly falling, one of the mages uses a lightning spell against Kenshin, but he quickly uses one of the guards as a shield.
'Are they that eager to kill me that they are willing to sacrifice their own men?'
After killing the guards, he notices that archers also formed along the top of the outer walls. The wind wails with a wave of arrows. He slices into the air and a wind blade easily stops the volley of arrows.
From the distance he sees and hears more men coming in his direction.
'More men must be coming from an outside encampment.'
He dashes towards the walls.
"What the hell does he think he's doing?" One guard tells another.
"He's a fool if he thinks that he is going to cut through these walls." Another replies.
Just as they say that to each other, Kenshin gets to the wall and shoots up with a rune empowered boost. As he jumps up onto the walkway, he kills one guard by making a downward slice upon his head and cleaves through him into the other guard.
He quickly moves onto killing the person in charge of the gate so that he can't let any other guards in.
After killing him, Kenshin moves on through the courtyard to the side of the palace. He gets ambushed by more guards and several wolves that were used for guard dogs. During the scramble he takes a stab to his side and one of his legs gets bitten, but it doesn't take long for him to kill this group as well.
Moving on, he spots a glass window that Tabitha had pointed out to him. He uses the same technique that he used to get over the wall, to get in through the window. Glass shatters everywhere as he crashes through the window. His face takes no cuts because he shielded himself, but his right hand gets a small cut and his clothes gets a little bit tattered.
He looks up and down the hallway while remembering which way Tabitha told him to head.
He coughs up some more blood.
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After fending off more guards and mages, Kenshin gets to another hallway that is closer to his destination when he comes across a man in a butler's uniform. He is standing in the middle of the hallway. He has a slender build, and he is wearing glasses. There are black gloves on his hands.
He is standing there with his hands behind his back and he has a smirk on his face.
"I would like to think that you are just a normal butler and shall let me pass, but I have the feeling that you aren't, that I don't."
"Hmmmm. You are very perceptive. I guess that I wouldn't expect anything less from a man that attacked and infiltrated a guarded palace all on his own."
Kenshin could feel the killing intent from the man.
The man pulls out a wand and lifts both of his hands in the air. He almost looks as though he is leading an orchestra.
Just as Kenshin was about to rush the man and kill him before he cast his spell, he feels a tug around his arms and legs.
'Did he already cast the spell? But he is still chanting. What kind of a spell is this?'
He finds that he is unable to get to his sword.
'If I can't get to my sword, I am done for.'
The butler smirks at him.
"Are you ready to give up yet? I really don't mind if you die here. Pests are better exterminated right away. Now, I wouldn't mind having fun with Charlotte if Joseph would let me."
Kenshin gets a more serious look on his face.
"How dare you say her name so frivolously?"
Kenshin's eyes start to get a slight glow to them.
The man begins chanting again and whatever has his arms and legs trapped tightens.
'Damn. I feel like my limbs are being tied off. I feel them beginning to go numb.'
H notices that there seems to be an odd tint to the butler's glasses.
'How could he have gotten that spell off so quickly?'
The man makes some more gestures and now something seems to get a hold of his neck as well.
"Gah!" Kenshin gurgles.
'now it feels like a noose just got wrapped around my neck. Wait this is too coincidental.'
Thoughts piece together as Kenshin struggles to keep consciousness.
'After each movement, he stays put, but his muscles still seem to be fighting against something.'
His runes glow and he gives a swift yank with all of his might against whatever seems to be suspending him while he curls into a ball.
That yank catches the butler off guard and his arms get extended out. He yells out as the ring finger of his left hand breaks and snaps off.
There is a slight give in his binds and Kenshin quickly takes the opportunity fight against what is constraining him again and he manages to get out his sword. He flails around and he falls to the ground.
Through his pain and the blood dripping from his missing finger, the butler pulls out two short swords.
"Damn you. You saw through my little façade."
"You are not a mage, are you?" Kenshin asks.
"No. I was just trying to make it appears as if I was."
He takes off his glasses and tosses them off to the side.
"I must admit, I was fooled for a minute."
"It doesn't matter. You are still going to die like the fool you are for trying to kill the king"
"I am not trying. I will kill him. Even if it is the last thing that I do."
"Fool." The man retorts and then charges at Kenshin.
With the aid of his runes, Kenshin summersaults at the butler. He spins in the air at him with his blade out like a saw.
The butler puts his blades together like a scissor. The act blocks one round of Kenshin's blade. The blade cuts into the twin blades that the butler had and forces them down. The forward motion that Kenshin had brings him around again and he slices the butler completely in half.
More blood gets on Kenshin as he stands up from the fallen halves of his foe.
He could feel the travel and the battles slowing draining his stamina and energy.
"I cannot let this get to me, and there is no turning back. I have to keep moving." He says while flinging the blood off his sword and sheathing it again.
He takes a quick look through the butler's glasses and he could see the fine wire that he had set up within the hallway.
He pushes forward with added wounds along his neck, wrists, and ankles.
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Kenshin slowly goes down another hallway, ignoring the pains throughout his body.
He stops as he comes across a decorative table along the wall. Alongside it seems to be a maid that is curled up with her back facing Kenshin. She seems to be trying to hold back terrified sobs.
She hears his footsteps stop, and she takes a peek over her shoulder at Kenshin. Her eyes go wide as she notices his state.
She screams and curls up with her back against the wall. She is also holding up her hands as if to defend her head from a strike.
'It's a demon!' She shouts in her head.
"Please don't kill me." She repeats over and over.
He could feel only terror from her.
"Miss."
"Please don't kill me."
"Miss."
"Please don't kill me."
"Miss."
"Please don't kill me." She says yet again.
"I'm not going to kill you."
"Please don't kill. . . . huh?"
The girl who seems to be in her late teens looks up at him with tear filled eyes.
"You're not?"
"Are you going to attack me?"
She shakes her head.
"Then you're fine."
She hesitates in believing the bloodied man before her.
"Can you help me get my father out of the dungeon here? He defied joseph and has been here ever since. I was forced to work here with my father being used to keep me in check."
"Perhaps. I have to take care of my business first. I also do not know if what you are telling me is true or not. I would hate to let out a man that shouldn't be free. I might be inclined to help you if you do something for me."
"Ask me anything."
Kenshin scratches the back of his head as he really contemplates asking her what he is about to ask her.
"Are you sure? It is a rather despicable task, that it is."
"What is it?"
"You are a maid, correct?"
She nods.
"I need you to help clean up my messes."
She thinks about all of the bodies that he could have left in his wake.
She takes a big gulp.
"You are right. That is a rather despicable task to ask of me. To ask anybody for that matter, especially a girl."
"I am sorry, that I am. Where I came from, I usually had someone to do that for me. I would also hate for the princess to return to a palace full of blood and dead bodies."
"Fine. I'll do it."
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A/N: Thank you for reading another chapter of my fanfiction.
Also – Outside of a review of the chapter, let me know if there are any Characters from my other Familiar Of Zero story that you would like to see more of (except the spirits). I know a lot of readers came from that story, so I am putting this out there.
Here is a list of my other stories
My 'History's Strongest Devil Disciple Kenichi' story is at chapter 16
My 'Kenichi: Not Just Her Disciple' story is at chapter 11 - Complete
My 'Monster Musume: Drago's Quest' story is at chapter 4 - Complete
My 'Familiar Of Zero: Saving Grace' story is at Chapter 79 - Complete
My 'Teknoman And A Succubus' story is at chapter 4
