Disclaimer: I have not, do not, and will not ever own either "Yu-Gi-Oh!" or "Rurouni Kenshin."
Chapter 12
The next two days passed slowly for Kenshin. He went to school with Yugi in the morning, and went to the dojo in the afternoon while Yugi went to hang out with his friends. Yugi had told them about the tournament, but none of them could make it. Joey and Tristan were going to Joey's mother's house to visit Serenity, and Tea had to work. Ryou, however, was eager for a chance to see Kenshin's skills. He didn't worry too much about Bakura, because Yami would be there in case the tomb raider tried anything. Finally, Saturday had arrived.
"Grandpa! Me and Kenshin are leaving! We'll probably be gone all day, okay?" Yugi called to Grandpa as he and Kenshin came down the stairs.
"Alright, I'll see you tonight, then. Be careful!" Grandpa called from the shop.
Kenshin and Yugi exited through the back door. Yugi sighed, relieved. "I thought he was gonna ask where we were going!"
"Yes, it is better to not have to lie at all," Kenshin said as they walked to the road. He pulled the flyer from his pocket and looked at it. "It says that the tournament will be held at the park."
"At the park?" Yugi asked, confused. "Oh, yeah! They have that big indoors stadium there! That's probably where we need to go," he said, smiling.
Kenshin nodded and returned the paper to his pocket. Although he looked like he was calm, almost bored, Kenshin was barely containing his enthusiasm. Both he and Battousai were excited about this tournament. Yes, he could practice by himself, he could spar with people, but nothing rivaled the adrenaline rush of a battle. True, it would be with bokkens and no one would die, but it was still exciting. Sparring is fun, but you're so focused on trying to not hurt the other person that there's not much room left for anything else. Here, you're still trying to not hurt the other person, but only drastically. Minor wounds will be sustained and the battle will continue. It is almost a complete test of strength--almost, because there's still the safety net of being able to back out at any time with no consequences, save forfeiting the tournament. But it was still enough to have the former manslayer impatient with anticipation.
Although Kenshin looked calm when you glanced at him, Yami could tell that he was excited. His eyes were a little wider than normal as he stared ahead. The corner of his lips kept twitching, as if desperately trying not to reveal the wide smile concealed within them. He had set a fast pace, forcing poor Yugi to practically run to keep up with him. His left hand frequently strayed causally to his left hip, as if searching for something that was not there, while his right hand clenched and unclenched itself, longing for a very familiar object. Yami wasn't sure if he should be worried or not. I hope he knows that there is no killing in this tournament, Yami thought to himself.
~*~
Finally, they reached the park. Yugi was correct in his assumption that the tournament would be held in the stadium, and they fought through the crowds (figuratively, as much as Battousai wanted to do so literally) to the front desk. There was a woman sitting there with long black hair that was held back by a bandanna, with green eyes. She had on a white blouse that was neatly tucked into her black skirt. She smiled at Kenshin as he approached.
"Would you like to participate in the tournament today?" she asked, her voice pleasant.
"Hai," Kenshin replied, allowing himself to grin, but nothing more than a polite smile.
She picked up a pen and pulled a fresh sheet of paper off of the stack in front of her. "Your name?" she asked, pen poised over the paper.
"Kenshin Himura."
"Age?"
"15."
"Style?"
"Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu."
"Dojo?"
Here Kenshin paused. He looked, and found that Yugi had left already, apparently to get a good seat. He turned back to the woman in front of him. "I did not study at a dojo. I lived with my master for a number of years, and he taught me everything I know."
She paused. "Well, then, what's your master's name?" she asked, finally.
"Seijuro Hiko XIII."
She finished copying the name and smiled at Kenshin again. "Alright, you've been registered to fight in the tournament. The waiting room for fighters is over there--" she pointed, "and clothes and a bokken will be provided for you. Good luck."
"Arigatou," Kenshin said, bowing. He walked in the direction she indicated and entered the room. There were already several people in there, waiting. Kenshin was pleased to note that they all wore a gi and hakama, similar to his uniform he wore as a hitokiri.
/Those must be the clothes she was talking about,/ Kenshin pointed out.
//Finally! Something comfortable to wear!// Battousai said, dramatically.
Kenshin made a face. /Modern clothes are not that bad. They're actually quite comfortable once you get used to--/
Suddenly, someone grabbed the front of Kenshin's shirt, lifting him off the ground. "I asked you if you had a problem wit' me!" demanded a tall, muscular man in his mid twenties. He had tattoos covering both arms, and a leather T-shirt with matching leather pants.
/Yugi would love that outfit,/ Kenshin noted.
//Kenshin, the man is holding you off the ground by your shirt. Please tell me you're gonna do something other than talk about his and Yugi's similarly warped sense of fashion!// Battousai snarled. He wasn't mad at Kenshin, just the fact that Kenshin was willing to tolerate things like this when Battousai would have killed them for insulting him in such a manner.
/Calm down,/ Kenshin said, trying to rein in his yami's temper. The fights hadn't even started yet! "I'm sorry, I don't have a problem with you," Kenshin said in a cheerful voice.
This seemed to irritate the man further. "Then why wuz you starin' at me funny?!" he demanded, shaking Kenshin to punctuate his words.
Battousai was about to teach this punk a lesson whether Kenshin liked it or not, when someone else intervened.
"I'm sorry, but you will be disqualified for fighting in the locker room if you don't stop. You should save your strength for the fights," said an older man, stepping up to them. He was wearing a vest that declared him as an official of the tournament, causing the man holding Kenshin to drop him immediately and walk off muttering something about being provoked. The official helped Kenshin to his feet. "Are you alright, young man?" he inquired.
Kenshin smiled, again just a polite smile. "Hai, arigatou," he said, bowing. Battousai muttered something about interrupting his fun ...
The official looked Kenshin up and down, critically. "Well, you don't seem like much of a fighter, but if you're in here then you must be wanting to participate. Come with me and I'll get you some clothes and a bokken."
The official led Kenshin to a dressing room in the back where Kenshin tried on several sets of clothes, all of them too big. The old man came back with one last set. "This is the smallest we've got. If these don't fit, then I'm afraid that you'll have to wear clothes that are too big," he said, shrugging apologetically. Fortunately for Kenshin, they fit perfectly. "Good. Now, follow me, and you can pick out which bokken you'd like to use."
After Kenshin had picked a bokken, he sat on the floor against the wall, his legs crossed underneath him, with the bokken leaning against his right shoulder, with his arms crossed in front of him. He closed his eyes to meditate until the beginning of the fights. He didn't get the chance to.
"Well, if it isn't Yugi's new little friend. I hope you brought your mommy, so you can run crying to her when you get hit," a voice said, scornfully.
Kenshin smiled, looking up at him. "Hello, Kaiba. Looking forward to the fights?"
Kaiba was a bit taken back, but recovered quickly. "You're just gonna get beat up out there. You're not physically built for kendo," Kaiba said, surprised that he was actually a little worried about Kenshin. He never did approve of strong people picking on people who were weaker than them.
Kenshin just continued smiling at him. "On the contrary, as I told you the other day, being smaller and lighter makes me faster and more agile. I'm also a smaller target," Kenshin explained.
"Fine! You wanna get yourself killed?! Then go right on ahead! But don't say I didn't warn you...," Kaiba said, walking away. Kenshin just shook his head. Kaiba'd understand soon enough.
~*~
Yugi had left when Kenshin started answering the receptionist's questions. He wanted to get a good seat, so he figured that he might as well start now. With some difficulty, he entered the stadium and looked around. There were several large mats on the floor where the fighting would take place, with bleachers on either side. The bleachers were almost full already, Yugi noticed with a sinking feeling. That meant he might have to sit in the back where he might not be able to see Kenshin at all (being short has it's disadvantages). He scanned the front row, looking for an empty seat and--there! Yugi spotted an empty seat and started walking over to it. He was halfway there before he realized that Ryou was sitting in the one next to it, trying to get his attention. Yugi walked over to him.
"Hi Yugi! I got here early, and saved us some seats!" Ryou said, gesturing to the seat next to him. Yugi sat down beside him. "Thanks, Ryou! So, how long before it starts?"
Ryou looked at his watch. "About ten minutes."
Yugi shifted, getting comfortable in his seat. He and Ryou waited in silence for the tournament to begin.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the announcer walked out into the middle of the room with a microphone and the audience quieted down as he held up one hand for silence.
"Welcome to this year's Kendo Tournament! We will begin very shortly, but first let me explain the rules of the tournament. First off-- acts resulting in disqualification. If you use any other type of weapon, aside from the bokken issued, you will be disqualified. If you kill your opponent, you will be disqualified. Also, poking in the eyes and hitting the groin is just plain mean, and will not be tolerated. You will be disqualified from the tournament for doing so. But enough about that, how do you win a match? Forcing your opponent off of the mat, disarming them, or knocking them out will declare you the victor of the duel. We would like to remind the audience to remain seated, and not rush out onto the floor at any time. The snack bar is open out in the hall, and they've got some great stuff..."
Yugi looked at Ryou. "Are they ever gonna start, or is he just gonna keep talking the whole time?"
Ryou shrugged his shoulders. "Hopefully, they'll start soon. It's already 9:24," he said, looking at his watch.
"Now," the announcer continued, "it's the moment you've all been waiting for. On mat #1, Reijiro Dazai will be facing off with Sawako Maita. On mat #2, ..."
"Who cares about them, where is Kenshin?" Yugi asked, looking around.
"There! Look, over there! He's standing by the fifth mat!" Ryou said, excitedly, pointing.
"...and on mat #5, Akino Menshi vs. Kenshin Himura. And, without further ado, let the tournament begin!" The audience screamed as all of the fighters stepped onto the mats and got into position.
Yugi and Ryou watched as Kenshin walked onto the mat, bowed to his opponent, and fell into his fighting stance.
~*~
Kenshin surveyed his opponent. Akino was probably around 12 or 13 years old. He had obviously never fought in a tournament before. He was shaking so bad that he could barely hold his bokken and he had left several of his vitals open to attack. Kenshin shook his head mentally. He almost felt bad having to beat the poor kid. He decided to disarm him quickly and get it over with.
Kenshin darted forward, only using a fraction of his speed, and aimed a blow for Akino's right hand. Kenshin was a little startled when his attack was blocked by the boy's bokken. Kenshin smiled.
/It appears that he has some fight in him after all. We'll have some fun before we take him out. It'll be a nice warm up,/ Kenshin said, mentally grinning a little more evilly than he allowed his face to show.
//Oh, yeah, that's what I'm talking about,// Battousai agreed. Kenshin wouldn't go nearly as far to have fun with a weaker opponent as Battousai would, but Battousai would support him as far as he would go, and try to push him further.
Kenshin exchanged thrust and parries with the boy, although they were much slower and softer than normal. It was quite a challenge for Kenshin to see if he could limit his speed and strength to match that of Akino's. Slowly, Kenshin was pushing him back, bit by bit, towards the edge of the mat. Akino didn't notice. He was too busy concentrating on where Kenshin's next attack was coming from to notice his diminishing distance from the edge. Soon, his foot was less than an inch from the edge. Kenshin rushed at him suddenly, preparing to swing his bokken. Akino moved his foot back to brace himself against the impact--and lost his balance as he inadvertently stepped from the mat to the floor, which was two inches lower, falling flat on his back off of the mat. The judge, who was watching mat #5, declared Kenshin the victor.
Akino lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. He had lost. He had been so excited about participating in the tournament, and he hadn't even made it past the first round. Suddenly, a hand came into his field of view. He looked and saw the redhead who had just defeated him, offering him his hand. Akino took it, and Kenshin pulled him to his feet.
"You fought well," Kenshin said, smiling.
//After all, it's not your fault that you happened to fight Hitokiri Battousai in the first match,// Battousai remarked snidely, mimicking Kenshin's voice. Kenshin ignored him.
"I lost."
"Everyone has to lose sometime. Don't worry, you have an entire year to train and improve your skills. Next time, who knows? Maybe we'll fight again, and perhaps this time you will be the victor," Kenshin said.
//Yeah, and perhaps Hiko will come walking up and apologize for trying to kill us. Don't lie to the kid,// Battousai said, as if insulted by Kenshin's comment.
The boy looked at him, almost hopefully. "Thanks. I'm gonna train hard. You won't beat me next time." With that, he turned and walked out of the stadium.
/We're not invincible,/ Kenshin reminded his darker half.
//Yeah, but there's no way that THAT kid will beat us,// Battousai said, scornfully.
/You never know, a lot can happen in a year. He has a strong ki already. He just needs to develop it./
Battousai snorted as Kenshin started walking back to the locker room to await his next match.
~*~
