Disclaimer: Pokémon and Rurouni Kenshin are not mine! If they were, I would be rich!
And I would own a Shinx and name it Pookie.
Chapter 7: Development
"Are you sure this is safe, Shishou?" Kenshin warily eyed the saddle that was strapped to the Charizard's back. Fudo huffed, black smoke pouring from his mouth as he did so. Hina let out a soft note, expressing her own displeasure at being ridden however necessary it was. The egg was tucked snugly in Hiko's bag which was strapped to his back.
"Baka deshi. I've done this more times than you could count. Now, stop being so dramatic and just get on." The large man grumbled, giving Kenshin a stern glare. The boy turned towards the Charizard and attempted to mount him, only to be shaken off quite easily. Hiko sighed and stood over the boy who now lay sprawled on the ground, having also taken a flamethrower to the face.
"Kenshin, in order to ride a Pokémon you have to be confident and trustworthy. And all I see here is a quivering sliver of a boy. Get up and show him your spirit."
The boy shot Hiko a glare. He didn't know how to be strong; he didn't even have any Pokémon of his own. "Look…Fudo…"
He flinched when the Charizard glared at him, but soon gained his composure. It was as if an unseen force inside of him was pushing the words through his mouth. "Fudo, you may not think much of me, but I am more than capable of riding you."
Fudo's interest peeked as he realized the boy's eyes, once violet, were now glowing amber. He turned to the boy with the intention of intimidating him further, but it seemed to have an opposite effect. Hiko stared at the two of them from the sidelines, but didn't interfere as Kenshin drew his Sakabatou.
"I'll prove to you how strong I am." Kenshin glared and leapt into the air as the ground below him was consumed with a flamethrower. "Ryu Tsui Sen!"
Taken aback from the unexpected aerial attack, Fudo had no time to dodge or block it. Instead, the sword connected with his shoulder, causing the Charizard to cry out in pain. Kenshin landed on his feet just yards away, glaring at the fire Pokémon.
His glare was returned and strengthened with another fire attack, but Kenshin had disappeared into the air again. This time, the hilt of the Sakabatou struck Fudo's head, knocking the Pokémon unconscious. Kenshin turned when he heard Hiko chuckle to his right, puzzled.
"Good work, baka deshi, but you forgot one slight problem. You need him conscious to ride him. But you did prove your strength to him, so I think he'll let you ride him. Now fetch a Revive from my pack and get Fudo up."
Kenshin rolled his eyes, which had turned violet once again, and went digging through Hiko's bag until he retrieved a pouch with three finger-sized diamond-shaped stones. He took out one of the stones and dropped it into Fudo's mouth as he had seen his master do on a few occasions when Takeshi battled against wild Pokémon until he was knocked out. The Charizard swallowed the stone by instinct and soon opened his eyes.
The large Pokémon eyed Kenshin with interest and bitterness, but realized he had no choice but to submit to the boy's orders. Not that he liked it, or anything. It wasn't as if he was impressed by the boy, either. No, he was doing this because if he put up another fight it wouldn't be only the boy's Ryu Tsui Sen he'd have to worry about.
"Shishou, this is amazing!" Fudo and Hiko both couldn't help but grin at the boy's enjoyment at flying. The Charizard dove down towards the forest, almost dislodging Kenshin at one point. But the boy held fast as he reveled in his newfound favorite pastime.
"Easy, Fudo." Hiko chuckled as Hina let out a loud note to display her own joy in watching Kenshin have a good time. They had hoped the boy would eventually regain his happiness, and it seemed like it was finally starting to happen.
They flew at this brisk pace until early afternoon when they finally reached the Blackthorn City Pokémon Center. Once there, they dropped off the egg with Nurse Joy and Hiko treated Kenshin to some lunch.
"If I had known you were such a fan of ohagi, I would have gotten you some when we were here a few weeks ago." Hiko was been pleased that the boy was eating well again; when he first took in his ward it was hard to get the boy to eat anything other than plain miso broth, and that was only when he was too sick or weak to refuse. He had decided to reward the boy for eating everything on his plate with a little dessert.
"I use to have it once a week in Viridian City. Mother would always buy the best azuki beans on the market…" Sensing the boy might go into another depression when he thought of his parents, Hiko quickly changed the subject.
"How do you feel about training your own Pokémon, Kenshin?" At this, Kenshin's eyes immediately lit up.
"It would be amazing…but I wouldn't know where to begin with it." The boy eyed Hina and Fudo, the latter of which was napping against the wall while the rest of them were eating.
"Do you have a favorite Pokémon?" Hiko asked nonchalantly, though in reality he was paying close attention to his baka deshi's responses.
"I like Hina," Kenshin replied softly, glancing at the Dragonair when she looked up from her food. He grinned as she nudged his hand with her head and started petting her.
"Well, that's a good thing, I suppose," Hiko gazed at his student as he interacted with Hina, "because pretty soon you'll have Pokémon of your own. And one of them is Hina's offspring."
"Er…offspring?" Kenshin blinked and met his master's eyes.
"And I suppose Pokémon eggs were never explains properly to you?"
"…Oro?"
After Hiko unceremoniously explains all about the Pidgeys and the Combees, Kenshin was dumbfounded. He harbored even more anxiety, however, when his master told him who the father was.
"That Salamence…Raidon. What was he like…before he, you know…" Kenshin stumbled through the sentence, still harboring painful memories of that day. Hiko took a deep breath then once again met the boy's violet eyes.
"Kenshin, many things in this world are uncertain and unpredictable until the very end. One of those things is Pokémon. At one moment, your Pokémon can seem like the most loyal partner you've ever had. And the next, he becomes a killing machine. Take Hina…she is very gentle when she is around you. But when someone threatens those she loves…she can get very nasty.
"Never judge a Pokémon by a single incident, just like you can never judge that a man is violent just by what he does when threatened. Pokémon, like people, are affected by the world around them and act accordingly depending on what their instincts tell them."
Surprisingly, Kenshin took this all in strides. But then again, Hiko expected nothing less of the boy. "So, since you are going to be partners with the hatchling, what will you name it?"
Kenshin shed his sorrowed, depressed mood in favor of a more thoughtful manner of thinking. "Kaishou if it is a boy."
"That is an odd name… 'Fly Over the Sea?'" Hiko eyed the boy thoughtfully as Kenshin pulled the top he had often seen him fiddling with from his kimono.
"My favorite Pokémon use to be Gyarados…because they seemed so mystical and my grandfather had one since he was a boy. I use to ride him in lakes before he died. My father gave me this top to always remember my family by no matter where I traveled…assuming he would allow me to go on a journey of my own. He said I was like Kaimu, resilient and strong yet gentle. Kaimu was awful kind for a Gyarados…" Kenshin broke off, feeling tears prickling his eyes. He hastily wiped them away with his sleeve, hoping his master hadn't noticed.
"He said perhaps if I worked hard, I could become as strong and powerful as the mightiest Gyarados. But now I want to be better than a Gyarados that glides through the water as if it were nothing but air. I want to fly above the sea with my Pokémon and surpass even Kaimu."
Hiko was careful not to show any outwards emotion, but inside he was really feeling for the boy. He now knew, without any doubts, Kenshin was the right choice to pass on the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. Never in any child did he see a fire burn as bright in his eyes as he spoke about Pokémon. And none ever had the guts or stupidity to take on a Charizard…and win.
"And if it is a girl?" The large man asked nonchalantly, still keeping his face blank.
"Then…" Kenshin thought about this a little more before coming up with an appropriate answer. "Hayase, Swift Current. For the fun-filled adventures we're sure to have as partners. And if she's anything like Hina…she'll be a force to contend wth."
