Chapter 5: Strange things
Dark eyes watch from the shadows as the two from before begin their movements into the village from their shadowy hiding places. They had done this once before, but with-drew, from a fight it seemed the could easily win, for a reason the observer did not know. Moving with the silence and speed that surpasses those being observed, the stranger keeps the two invaders in sight with-out leaving the shelter of shadows.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aoshi darts in from the shadows surrounding the village with his accustomed speed and stealth. Neither of them really knew what they were looking for, but he and Saitou were determined to find some clues to why they were being drawn to this village by this "Atarashiikami".
Sliding in through a window, Aoshi finds himself in a warehouse filled with bundles of various materials. Searching the bundles, he finds nothing but rice and farming supplies. Checking the door, he slips out and across to the next building.
And on it goes for hours, searching building by building for some hint, some clue about what was going on here. Occasionally, Aoshi would have the feeling of being watched. Unable to find who or what was watching him, he simply continues his search.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saitou slipped into the village at the same time as Aoshi did from the other side. He, too, had the occasional feel of being watched, but was, likewise, unable to find the source. He did, however, find the fate of the townspeople.
The fourth building he checked contained a bloody pile of body parts. From inspecting the remains, it seems he found a clue to the scenario as a whole.
Sacrifice. he thinks with disgust. It seems we have a cult here. As he studies the remains, three words keep coming to his mind. Aku. Soku. Zan. These were the motto of the Shinsen Gumi, the driving factor of the justice he enforced then, and still does now. Slay evil immediately. he thinks, knowing what he has to do.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some time later, just before dawn, the two met back up outside the village. Saitou tells Aoshi what he found.
"Aa." Aoshi says. "The village does need purged."
"Sono tori. Shall we?"
Aoshi just nods, drawing his two kodachi, preparing for the fight to come. The odds could be better. During their last run in, they counted almost twenty warriors between the two of them. They have no way of knowing how skilled they are. The Oniwabanshuu prefers, of course, to know who he's fighting, but he can adapt. Besides, they have no way of knowing how many of the twenty counted were counted by both. For that matter, there could be some that were counted by neither. A soft sigh escapes his lips.
"Having second thoughts?" Saitou asks.
Aoshi gives him a dirty look, then charges from the shadows, looking for his first target.
"My, my." Saitou murmurs to himself as he follows Aoshi. "It seems that I may have hit a nerve." A slight smirk crosses his lips as he draws his katana, picking his first target.
Shinomori and Saitou spit up, hoping to cause enough confusion among the warriors, who obviously lack much of the training needed for an army, to keep them all from attacking in any organized fashion. Skidding under a backhand swipe of a sword, Aoshi bounds back to his feet, planting each kodachi into a different enemy. Drawing his blades back from the bodies, he is just in time to block a downward swipe from the blade he just ducked. The second kodachi finds the attackers heart with ease.
Across the village, Saitou dances through a handful of warriors, leaving most dead and more wounded. Blocking a strike from a yari, he quickly turns it into a strike of his own, thrusting the blade through the chest of one enemy and into the neck of the fighter behind him. As he withdraws his blade, forcefully, from the bodies, he hears sounds behind him.
The sound of fast, hard movements behind him, accompanied by the screams of the dying, draw his attention. As he turns his head, a blur of dark leather vanishes behind a building, leaving three riflemen dead. Aoshi. he thinks, figuring the leather he saw to be the ninja's coat standing behind him as he ran. This thought lasts only as long as it takes to look through the village opening to see Aoshi across the village, battling four warriors.
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Aoshi nods as Saitou mentions the strange encounter with the riflemen. It has been almost an hour since the cultists who occupied the village had fled, leaving sixteen of their dead behind. The battle had been disappointingly short, by Saitou's thoughts, but the new mystery helper left them something else to think about.
They had both searched the area and neither could find any tracks that did not belong to the three riflemen who lay dead. The tracks of their killer were not to be found. Their wounds were obviously from a bladed weapon, similar to a katana. No arrows or shot were to be found, leaving out the possibility they were taken down by rifles or bow. The range they were at, Saitou would not have been able to reach them in time to keep from being shot.
With no clues left, there was nothing left to do but take care of the dead. The warrior bodies were tossed into a building across from where the villagers remains were. Setting fire to these two buildings first, they proceeded to burn the whole of the village. The entire time, they could not rid themselves of the feel of being watched. Suspecting that it was members of the cult returning for revenge, Aoshi slipped out of the village and circled around, trying to find their observer.
By dawn, Aoshi had circled the entire village, finding no clue towards their mystery observer. The village was well on its way to being completely gone from this world, so the two decided to get some much needed rest. Finding two separate places to rest, they quickly fell asleep, staying so for the majority of the day.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dark eyes watch the two as they burn the village, then as one of them slips out of the village, trying to circle around unseen. A wry smile plays across the observers dark lips, enjoying this little game of cat and mouse. Moving quickly, the figure changes positions, watching as the coated invader comes closer.
His skill at stealth is admirable. he thinks, watching the figure move through, stopping right where he had been sitting for the last couple hours watching. He probably has no idea how close he is. the shadowed figure thinks as the man comes with-in arms reach, then begins moving away, equally stealthy.
Yes, he thinks, I think I chose the right allies. The wry grin plays across his dark lips once more.
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The carriage travels quickly through the countryside, not really knowing where it is going, simply following the feelings of the passengers. The interior is more crowded than they had planned. Originally, it was only to be Kenshin, Kaoru, and Sanosuke to go, but Yahiko and Megumi were not going to be left behind.
"Che!" Sano yells, as the driver hits yet another deep rut. "How about watching where you're going up there!"
"Maa, maa, Sanosuke-san. She is not doing it on purpose." Kenshin interjects.
"Bullshit!" Sanosuke yells. "Who ever heard of a woman coach driver, anyway?" he more yells than asks. This, of course, results in both Kaoru and Megumi pounding on him.
Yahiko, who has been staring out of the carriage the entire time, simply ignores the latest fight. They had been on the road for several hours, and the sun had just risen a couple hours before. He couldn't explain why, but Yahiko just knew, instinctively, that he had to watch the woods. A slight movement of colour that doesn't belong catches his attention.
"Nani?"
"What is it, Yahiko-san?"
Yahiko notes the change in the way Kenshin refers to him. I guess I earned a new respect from him during the fight in Kyoto. he thinks.
"I'm not sure. I think I saw something."
Staring harder, he sees it again. A strange looking creature, its skin golden as the sun and dressed in fancy looking cloths of similar colour was following them. "What ever it is," Yahiko tell Kenshin, "I don't think it's human."
Dark eyes watch from the shadows as the two from before begin their movements into the village from their shadowy hiding places. They had done this once before, but with-drew, from a fight it seemed the could easily win, for a reason the observer did not know. Moving with the silence and speed that surpasses those being observed, the stranger keeps the two invaders in sight with-out leaving the shelter of shadows.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aoshi darts in from the shadows surrounding the village with his accustomed speed and stealth. Neither of them really knew what they were looking for, but he and Saitou were determined to find some clues to why they were being drawn to this village by this "Atarashiikami".
Sliding in through a window, Aoshi finds himself in a warehouse filled with bundles of various materials. Searching the bundles, he finds nothing but rice and farming supplies. Checking the door, he slips out and across to the next building.
And on it goes for hours, searching building by building for some hint, some clue about what was going on here. Occasionally, Aoshi would have the feeling of being watched. Unable to find who or what was watching him, he simply continues his search.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saitou slipped into the village at the same time as Aoshi did from the other side. He, too, had the occasional feel of being watched, but was, likewise, unable to find the source. He did, however, find the fate of the townspeople.
The fourth building he checked contained a bloody pile of body parts. From inspecting the remains, it seems he found a clue to the scenario as a whole.
Sacrifice. he thinks with disgust. It seems we have a cult here. As he studies the remains, three words keep coming to his mind. Aku. Soku. Zan. These were the motto of the Shinsen Gumi, the driving factor of the justice he enforced then, and still does now. Slay evil immediately. he thinks, knowing what he has to do.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some time later, just before dawn, the two met back up outside the village. Saitou tells Aoshi what he found.
"Aa." Aoshi says. "The village does need purged."
"Sono tori. Shall we?"
Aoshi just nods, drawing his two kodachi, preparing for the fight to come. The odds could be better. During their last run in, they counted almost twenty warriors between the two of them. They have no way of knowing how skilled they are. The Oniwabanshuu prefers, of course, to know who he's fighting, but he can adapt. Besides, they have no way of knowing how many of the twenty counted were counted by both. For that matter, there could be some that were counted by neither. A soft sigh escapes his lips.
"Having second thoughts?" Saitou asks.
Aoshi gives him a dirty look, then charges from the shadows, looking for his first target.
"My, my." Saitou murmurs to himself as he follows Aoshi. "It seems that I may have hit a nerve." A slight smirk crosses his lips as he draws his katana, picking his first target.
Shinomori and Saitou spit up, hoping to cause enough confusion among the warriors, who obviously lack much of the training needed for an army, to keep them all from attacking in any organized fashion. Skidding under a backhand swipe of a sword, Aoshi bounds back to his feet, planting each kodachi into a different enemy. Drawing his blades back from the bodies, he is just in time to block a downward swipe from the blade he just ducked. The second kodachi finds the attackers heart with ease.
Across the village, Saitou dances through a handful of warriors, leaving most dead and more wounded. Blocking a strike from a yari, he quickly turns it into a strike of his own, thrusting the blade through the chest of one enemy and into the neck of the fighter behind him. As he withdraws his blade, forcefully, from the bodies, he hears sounds behind him.
The sound of fast, hard movements behind him, accompanied by the screams of the dying, draw his attention. As he turns his head, a blur of dark leather vanishes behind a building, leaving three riflemen dead. Aoshi. he thinks, figuring the leather he saw to be the ninja's coat standing behind him as he ran. This thought lasts only as long as it takes to look through the village opening to see Aoshi across the village, battling four warriors.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aoshi nods as Saitou mentions the strange encounter with the riflemen. It has been almost an hour since the cultists who occupied the village had fled, leaving sixteen of their dead behind. The battle had been disappointingly short, by Saitou's thoughts, but the new mystery helper left them something else to think about.
They had both searched the area and neither could find any tracks that did not belong to the three riflemen who lay dead. The tracks of their killer were not to be found. Their wounds were obviously from a bladed weapon, similar to a katana. No arrows or shot were to be found, leaving out the possibility they were taken down by rifles or bow. The range they were at, Saitou would not have been able to reach them in time to keep from being shot.
With no clues left, there was nothing left to do but take care of the dead. The warrior bodies were tossed into a building across from where the villagers remains were. Setting fire to these two buildings first, they proceeded to burn the whole of the village. The entire time, they could not rid themselves of the feel of being watched. Suspecting that it was members of the cult returning for revenge, Aoshi slipped out of the village and circled around, trying to find their observer.
By dawn, Aoshi had circled the entire village, finding no clue towards their mystery observer. The village was well on its way to being completely gone from this world, so the two decided to get some much needed rest. Finding two separate places to rest, they quickly fell asleep, staying so for the majority of the day.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dark eyes watch the two as they burn the village, then as one of them slips out of the village, trying to circle around unseen. A wry smile plays across the observers dark lips, enjoying this little game of cat and mouse. Moving quickly, the figure changes positions, watching as the coated invader comes closer.
His skill at stealth is admirable. he thinks, watching the figure move through, stopping right where he had been sitting for the last couple hours watching. He probably has no idea how close he is. the shadowed figure thinks as the man comes with-in arms reach, then begins moving away, equally stealthy.
Yes, he thinks, I think I chose the right allies. The wry grin plays across his dark lips once more.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The carriage travels quickly through the countryside, not really knowing where it is going, simply following the feelings of the passengers. The interior is more crowded than they had planned. Originally, it was only to be Kenshin, Kaoru, and Sanosuke to go, but Yahiko and Megumi were not going to be left behind.
"Che!" Sano yells, as the driver hits yet another deep rut. "How about watching where you're going up there!"
"Maa, maa, Sanosuke-san. She is not doing it on purpose." Kenshin interjects.
"Bullshit!" Sanosuke yells. "Who ever heard of a woman coach driver, anyway?" he more yells than asks. This, of course, results in both Kaoru and Megumi pounding on him.
Yahiko, who has been staring out of the carriage the entire time, simply ignores the latest fight. They had been on the road for several hours, and the sun had just risen a couple hours before. He couldn't explain why, but Yahiko just knew, instinctively, that he had to watch the woods. A slight movement of colour that doesn't belong catches his attention.
"Nani?"
"What is it, Yahiko-san?"
Yahiko notes the change in the way Kenshin refers to him. I guess I earned a new respect from him during the fight in Kyoto. he thinks.
"I'm not sure. I think I saw something."
Staring harder, he sees it again. A strange looking creature, its skin golden as the sun and dressed in fancy looking cloths of similar colour was following them. "What ever it is," Yahiko tell Kenshin, "I don't think it's human."