I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, but the story is mine, and I'm not making any money off it as far as I can tell…



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Masked Ninja! Sanosuke Meets Yuji Chang!
A Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction by TBOtaku
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"HYEEEAAAA!!!"
Sagara Sanosuke blasted the huge boulder into nothingness. He grinned and wiped the power off his fist, gathering up the dust and filtering it into a fat vial which he attached to his pants. Walking off, he started to whistle a shrill tune, never noticing the eyes upon him.

"Great! Now I can finally get to Tae's restaurant and have some good eatn! Who the hell knows what that woman wants this powder for? Ah, well, I'm not complainin'!" And he strolled down the trail, stopping once to pick up a strange colored feather. He looked at it curiously So beautiful…Hey, maybe it's potent stuff, he corrected himself, a feather like this one might be some kinda holy medicine or whatever, maybe the doc wants it. Sanosuke pocketed the feather and stuck his hands in his pockets.

* * *

The fighter raced through the bamboo grove, leaving behind a path of bent bamboo and fluttering leaves. The runner's heart rate continually increased, but the swift ninja was not even close to being exhausted. Got to find it, the ninja thought desperately. Stupid gangsters…why did they have to get in the way?!

"That cocky guy has somethin coming to him," smirked one of the gangsters in pursuit of the elusive ninja.
"Yeah," shouted another. "He knocked Ukyou right off his horse with that damn pole!! When I get my hands on that…" The man known as Takahashi made a fist and ran faster, stunning the men behind him.
No matter how many times he uses his fast-eagle technique, it always amazes me… thought an admiring gangster. Our captain's the best! He'll whip that little bastard!" With that thought in mind, the confident gangsters ran in the wake of their leader, in search of revenge for their injured colleague, Ukyou. Then one of them tripped over a root, which got uprooted, which caused a small tree to fall, which snagged on a vine, which was really an old hunter's trap, which sent the whole lot of them flying up into the air, entangled in a net of vines.

* * *

Takahashi frowned. That man was no ordinary ninja…He was capable of an extremely advanced version of the fast-eagle technique. I might not be able to defeat him, Takahashi worried.

Meanwhile, Sanosuke was about a mile outside of town. "I can smell the food cooking already!" he cried. "Tae's food is the best in Japan! Hiking into the middle of nowhere for these crazy ingredients is nothing compared to that sukiyaki!" Sanosuke licked his lips and smiled. "Oi,…I suppose I better bring some back for Kenshin, him having to eat Jo-chan's food every day…" Sanosuke felt a chill run down his spine. He put the horrible thought away and marched along.

Suddenly he stopped. Something was wrong. Quickly he scanned the area, detecting nothing out of place. Then his eyes caught a virtual swarm of bamboo leaves flying up into the sky. Well that's not something you see every day, he mused. He started cautiously toward the flying leaves.
At the edge of a grove of bamboo, Sanosuke peered into the gaps between the trees. Nothing. Wait…what was that blue speck moving toward him?? The tall fighter stared intently, until the dot began to take shape. It's a man! He realized. But how could a man run so fast? He must be faster than Kenshin, and that's impossible…unless it's that boy Soujiro? Well Sagara Sanosuke had better find out, he concluded. He stepped directly into the path of the speeding man and waited.




* * *

The ninja crested a small hill and jerked its head in surprise. What the hell?! There's a guy in my path! I'll have to… But the warrior's thoughts were stopped short when a deadly dart grazed its cheek. Damn! This guy is fast to have been able to hit me with that…I'll have to deal with him before I reach town and this gets out of hand… And with that, Yuji the ninja stopped abruptly and turned to face his opponent. Takahashi, captain of the Raion Gumi.

Takahashi was shocked and nearly lost his footing. How could that guy stop so suddenly after using the fast-eagle technique?! That should have been impossible!! I'm in trouble now, he thought grimly. Closing the distance between them easier now, he started to slow down gradually until he was six feet away from the fighter.

"Hey, you!" Takahashi shouted. "I am Takahashi, Captain of the Raion Gumi! For your unacceptable actions, I cannot rest until you have suffered dearly for your crimes!" He drew his sword.
Yuji stared at him. "What crimes?" the ninja demanded.
Takahashi started. "Stop being a smart-mouth!! You knocked our comrade Ukyou off his horse so violently that he broke his ribs and his left arm fractured! For this you will pay, ninja!"
Yuji let loose a peal of laughter so empty of mirth that it made Takahashi flinch. His eyes narrowed and he glared at the captain of the foolish gangsters, and spoke slowly. "Your comrade Ukyou paid for HIS crimes. His broken ribs were payment for the injuries that poor farmer's son suffered when you and your men raided his father's home. The arm was a mistake," Yuji admitted. Takahashi stared at him questioningly. "The farmer's daughter, too, was injured. One of your gangsters struck her with a pole when she tried to fight him, breaking her arm completely. I should have broken his arm bone in half. The arm was a mistake," Yuji repeated.

Takahashi trembled with rage. "The farmer's son and daughter were insolent servants," he yelled. "Their fool of a father refused to pay our protection taxes when we demanded them! So he suffered the consequences."

Suddenly a flare went up in Yuji's eyes. "To beat an innocent young man and woman out of pure spite for their father?! What kind of protection are you giving them?" Yuji screamed. He lunged toward the proud gangster.

"LI DAO ZHUN TSUOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

* * *

Sanosuke scolded himself when Yuji stopped running toward him. He should have paid more attention. He should have noticed the lone man and the mob running after the figure in blue. He ran toward the blue speck at a frantic pace, expecting a fight with angry gangsters before the day was through. What the heck is that guy doing? He wondered. He can't take on all of them at once…Eh? Closing in on his target, Sanosuke saw the mysterious running man facing another man. The leader of the group, he guessed. He could tell that the gang leader was drawing his sword, and then saw the blue-clothed man yelling. Suddenly Sanosuke made a horrible observation: The other man was not armed!! Sanosuke gritted his teeth and ran faster. As he got closer to the pair, he nearly fell over with shock at what he saw.

While Sanosuke was still running, Yuji had lunged toward Takahashi. Takahashi had braced himself for the ensuing battle, but he was confused, for he could not tell where the ninja kept his weapon. At the last possible moment, though, Yuji changed direction at light speed and headed toward the closest grove of bamboo trees.

Where he felled a bamboo pole with his bare hands and with his other hand grabbed the base of the pole and whipped it upward, forcing all of the leaves to the tip of the pole in the lapse of a mere second. Turning slowly, he grimly swung the pole to point at Takahashi.

"Ikimasu," he said. Takahashi could not even reply in his shocked state. Yuji smirked and lifted his pole. Halfway through bringing it down, Yuji disappeared. "What the hell!?" gasped Takahashi. But his question was answered a moment later, when the ninja reappeared ten feet above him. The whistling of the bamboo pole filled the air as the master ninja finished his attack. The air around them filled with bamboo leaves.

When the leaves had settled, Yuji was crouched on the ground with his pole clenched in his right hand. Takahashi lay stunned with a deep gash running down the length of his body in a diagonal line. "Impossible," he wheezed. Then his head fell back and he said no more. Yuji said nothing. He got up slowly and dusted the dirt off his clothing, then started walking away.

Sanosuke's mouth dropped like an anvil.

It was definitely not Soujiro.

How could this guy be so fast? So strong…? He must be as good as Kenshin! Almost as good, he corrected himself. Nobody was as good as his Rurouni friend. He stiffened reflexively as the fighter approached him.

"Hey, you!! You didn't have to kill him, you know!! And what's your name, anyway??" growled Sanosuke when the ninja was right next to him.
Not even stopping, Yuji smiled. "My name is Yuji Chang, and he's not dead," he replied. He passed Sanosuke and leaned his pole over his shoulder.
Sanosuke's mind was reeling. Not…dead?? He suddenly realized that the gash in the man's body was only about half an inch deep, and it HADN'T EVEN BROKEN HIS SKIN. But…but that's just like…that attack was almost exactly the same as…

Kenshin's succession technique.

"Hey, Chang! If that's even your real name! If you're so strong that you can do that, there's no way that I can just let you walk away from me! We're going to fight! I've been needing a new challenge, you know," Sanosuke taunted.

Yuji didn't even slow down. "I don't fight weaklings like you," the ninja replied smoothly.

Sanosuke's eyes bulged at the word. "WHAT!?! How dare you call me a weakling!! I bet I could beat you in ten minutes, or my name isn't Sagara Sanosuke!!" he yelled.

At the sound of the name, Yuji stopped walking. He turned around, suddenly awkward and clumsy. Sanosuke noted the changed with some surprise. Yuji took in the sight of rough-mouthed fighter and smiled. "Sagara Sanosuke," he said.

* * *