Author: Arashi
Website: www.kenkaya.com
Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin nor am I making any money off this story!
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Two hours later Kaoru was surprised when Yahiko and Sanosuke came and told her they were going out. "Where's Kenshin at?" Sanosuke asked.
"My dear husband passed out when we got back." Kaoru said sarcastically. "And you two are in no shape to go wandering around. You'll probably forget where you live."
"Well, when we remember we'll be back." Sanosuke didn't look too concerned. "Besides we've had two hours to sober up, I'm fine." The two of them had spent at least half an hour of that time taking turns dunking each other's heads in the well.
"Well, I'm not going to try and stop you two. You're both grown men so go do whatever you want. Just be careful, ok?" Sanosuke and Yahiko grinned and nodded as they turned with a wave and left the Kamiya Kasshin Dojo. Kaoru watched them go and couldn't help feeling glad that Kenshin had already passed out.
While they walked along Sano and Yahiko got into a lively discussion. There were some things that neither of them wanted to talk about in front of Kaoru and Kenshin. (Mostly Kaoru) Yahiko began to tell a little bit more about how he'd kicked the crap out of all sorts of bad guys and Sano had some interesting stories about how he'd spent a good portion of his time traveling the world. As they neared their destination, Sanosuke finished up one of his stories.
"They chased you for three days?" Yahiko asked in disbelief.
"Yup, those guys were crazy. I finally stopped, got off my horse, and waited for them to catch up to me there in the middle of the desert." Sano paused dramatically.
"And then what happened?" Yahiko was eating it all up.
"When they caught up and found me standing there waiting, they were so intimidated that they rode back off into the desert!" Sano and Yahiko both broke out laughing as they pushed open the door to the gambling parlor. Inside the building was full of men gathered together on straw mats. One man at each mat had a cup and two dice. The room was filled with the sound of laughing, talking, and yelling. Yahiko glanced around taking in the sights. He and Yutarou had actually come out gambling quite a few times. It was one of those things that he just kept forgetting to mention to Kaoru and Kenshin. Of course, most of the places he'd been weren't anything like the gambling parlors Sanosuke liked to gamble at. The gambling looked serious. There were also scantily clad women walking among the men with trays of sake and food. The men all seemed rough and half of them were carrying swords right in the open. As one of the women walked by Sano helped himself to a jug of sake and started making his way to one of the least crowded mats. Yahiko followed him feeling a little out of place.
"If you want some Sake just take it." Sano turned back to Yahiko and spoke loud enough to be heard over the constant din. "They make enough money here they can just give it away." Yahiko helped himself to a jug as he brushed up against one of the women in the revealing outfits. Yahiko almost blushed as he looked down and got a pretty good look at her cleavage. Sano looked back and grinned at him. "See anything you like?" Yahiko didn't respond to Sano's teasing question. They finally made it to the mat and Sano edged his way in. Some of the guys at the mat moved over allowing the larger man to get in on the betting. "Oi Yahiko." Sano turned back and held out one hand expectantly in Yahiko's direction.
"What?" Yahiko looked from his hand to his face and then back at his hand.
"You got some cash?" The other gamblers were placing their bets. Yahiko blinked in disbelief.
"What!? You brought me out gambling and you don't even have any money?"
"Of course I don't have any money. I just gave my entire five-year savings to Tae. Now give me some money or we won't get in on the betting." Yahiko angrily reached into his sleeve pocket and took out his money. He went to open the pouch and hand some of the cash to Sano but the older man simply grabbed the entire thing and dumped it out in the betting area calling out happily; "Even, snake eyes!"
The other people placed their bets and the dice were rolled. Yahiko closed his eyes not wanting to witness the loss of his savings. Sano let out an exclamation of excitement and when Yahiko opened his eyes he saw the dice had come up snake eyes. Some of the men congratulated Sanosuke and others swore. The large pile of cash was pushed over to Sanosuke who turned to Yahiko with a grin. He had in one roll of the dice won more money than Yahiko had ever had his hands on at any time in his life. Yahiko swore.
"Kuso Sanosuke, let's take the money and call it a night!" Sanosuke laughed and replied.
"Oh no, we're just getting started! You call it this time." Yahiko felt like he was really being put on the spot. Sanosuke slid the entire pile of money into the betting spot.
"All or nothing." He said to Yahiko with a nod of encouragement and a look that seemed to say, "don't screw this up". Yahiko thought hard for a moment, trying to decide what the dice would turn up. He stared in concentration at the dice being held between the roller's fingers. He went with his instincts and called out, "Odds, five and two." The dice were slammed down on the mat and the cup removed. The dice showed a five and a two. Sanosuke slapped Yahiko on the back. "Thatta boy! Ha ha!" The other betters were impressed. Once again, the entire pile of cash slid in front of Sanosuke. Sano took a long swig of his sake and told Yahiko to make the call again.
As the night progressed the two of them had almost unnatural success. Sano was loving it. "My luck has changed!" He called out happily as the dice showed up in their favor once again. "You're incredible Yahiko!" Sano and Yahiko had both really gotten into the game and the free sake. Some of the other customers there at the gambling parlor were not so happy about their success, needless to say.
As Sanosuke laughingly pulled his winnings to his and Yahiko's pile some of the men who had been betting at their mat glanced at each other. The group spokesperson took out a dagger and stabbed it into the mat angrily.
"Cheaters!" He yelled out. The parlor got quiet. Everyone turned in the direction of the man with the drawn dagger.
"Take your disagreements outside." One of the house "bouncers" told the angry man and his friends. The air suddenly filled with the sound of swords clicking free of their scabbards. "Don't draw your weapons in here!" The bouncer warned the armed group of men who were surrounding Yahiko and Sanosuke.
"These men are cheaters and we're taking our money back!"
"Guys, guys." Sano put his hands in the air waving them calmly. "There seems to be some mistake" The men swore angrily and clutched at their weapons. Sano quickly noticed they were surrounded and a happy grin burst onto his face. "But if you'd like to take this outside that's fine with me." Sano held his hands up in surrender. He sounded intoxicated.
"Take 'em outside!" The man with the dagger yelled to his companions. Hands grabbed them from all sides and started pulling them along. Yahiko looked frantic and quite ready to attack but Sanosuke shot him a warning look and indicated the other onlookers with a flick of his eyes. There were scared serving girls and enough armed men to cause quite a disturbance if the fight happened in the building. Yahiko searched Sano's face and realized that his friend knew what he was doing even though he still appeared to be drunk.
Sano and Yahiko were tossed into the street in the back alley behind the gambling parlor. Yahiko landed hard and felt the wind knocked out of his lungs. He'd never fought drunk and momentarily doubted his and Sano's chances of escaping unscathed. He looked over at Sano who seemed barely able to stand after hours of drinking. The door closed behind the angry men, leaving them alone with Sano and Yahiko.
When the door shut it was as though a magical transformation took place. Sano jumped to his feet nimbly. "Only ten of you huh?" He cracked his knuckles. The men stepped back in surprise. They had fully thought they were about to beat on two helpless drunk men. Sano's one-sided grin and darkly flashing eyes were enough to shake their confidence. It took Yahiko only another moment to get to his feet, and soon he was standing at Sanosuke's side looking menacing. The leader was not so easily frightened as his men.
"Get 'em!" He yelled and came at Sanosuke with his dagger. Some of the other men drew their swords or knives or just came at them with fists. The man with the dagger reached Sanosuke first and was the first one to feel defeat at his capable hands. Sanosuke caught his wrist and squeezed, there was an audible crack and the man dropped his dagger screaming in pain. A hard blow to the face left him crumpled on the ground unconscious. The entire event had barely even taken two seconds.
Yahiko's first opponent swung his sword in attempt to slice open the young swordsman. Yahiko watched the katana as the man swung and he lashed out with his left hand catching the blade between two fingers. With a quick twist of his wrist the sword flew from the man's hand and landed harmlessly behind Yahiko.
Sano ignored the men trying to fight him and turned in Yahiko's direction. "Oooooooo, Yahiko! What was that?" He asked as he shoved his elbow into an assailant's stomach nonchalantly. Yahiko smiled menacingly at his opponents who all stopped dead in their tracks.
"Oh just a little trick I've picked up." He commented casually though he kept his fearsome look glued to the four men.
"Ya Yahiko? Myoujin Yahiko, master of the shirahadori??" The four men looked shocked. They glanced at each other and then back at Yahiko. Yahiko just gave them a cold glare that seemed to confirm their fears. "Let's get out of here!" The four men took off running and Yahiko watched them go. After they disappeared into the dark of the night, he turned and found Sanosuke standing with his hands in his pockets and a big grin on his face. One of his feet casually rested on the pile of his defeated opponents.
"So Jochan was right, you really have gotten a name for yourself!"
"I guess you could say that." Yahiko laughed casually and came over to inspect Sano's handiwork. "Looks like you haven't lost your touch either."
"I guess you could say that." Sanosuke echoed Yahiko, the cocky look still on his face. "But that really was a pathetic fight, ne?"
"Aa. Well let's get out of here before the cops show up."
"Good thinking, I'd hate for them to realize I'm back in Japan and come chasing after me again." The two of them hurried off down a side alley and it wasn't until a few minutes later that they realized that they'd left their pile of winnings inside the gambling parlor. Both men swore for a while and finally decided to forget about it, figuring that the cops would already be sniffing around the scene. Once they were far enough away and Yahiko had finally given up hope of getting his money back they resumed their casual stroll.
"So Sanosuke, what did you do to get the cops chasing you in the first place? I mean, I heard the story but I was wondering why?" Sano thought for a moment, trying to remember the circumstances surrounding his forced departure from Japan. Though five years and all the sake worked to dim his memory there was no way he could forget the situation that changed his life.
"Well, I basically picked a fight with one of the Ishin Shishi who used his political power to try and crush me. It's the usual story about those corrupt Meiji bastards. The guy was backing a silk racket in my hometown, trying to take over the place and corner the market. All the townsfolk would have been out of jobs and money and returned to their former poverty. I can't stand it when the bureaucrats take advantage of the little people. I gave him a piece of my mind and a good taste of my fists." Sanosuke smiled and held up a clenched fist, remembering the look of terror on Tani's face as he'd walked in to beat him up. The recollection was still vivid though the event had taken place five years earlier. "Apparently the guy hadn't taken too kindly to the idea that one person had single handedly put a stop to his entire operation. But with his political power it was easy to make me out to be the bad guy." Sano's jaw clenched and he was quietly lost in thought for a few moments. "They're always turning things around like that." Sano trailed off while Yahiko walked in silence. Sano sighed but didn't say anything else. One thing he had learned in his five-year journey was that complaining didn't accomplish anything.
As they walked on, Yahiko refrained from starting any other conversations. He could tell that Sano was still thinking about things that he had probably not thought about in a long time. He was right. Sano was lost deep in thought. The distraction combined with an evening of drinking made it impossible for Sano or Yahiko to detect a presence hiding in the shadows of a nearby alley. It was dark and Yahiko quickly procured a light so they could make their way back to his place. The illumination was insufficient to reveal the person standing in the alley as they walked by. It was only a moment before the attack that Sano finally sensed the battle aura or ken ki.
"Get down!" Sanosuke yelled as he pushed Yahiko aside. Something hard slammed into the back of his head with enough force to knock him forward, sprawling to the ground. Yahiko jumped aside with the help of Sano's well-timed warning and shove. He turned to see Sano crash to the ground face first. A figure holding a sheathed sword and wearing a dark cloak rushed toward him and Yahiko brought up the light to block the attack. At the last second the figure pulled his sword free of the sheath and cut the wooden handle, Yahiko's light fell to the ground igniting itself and quickly burning out. The moon cast only enough light for Yahiko to make out the shapes of more figures up on the rooftops of the nearest buildings. A few more dark shapes came sliding out from the back alleys, surrounding them. "Sano?" Yahiko called out trying to figure out if Sanosuke was still conscious.
Sanosuke pushed himself to his feet, tenderly feeling the back of his head. There was a nice sore spot and something warm running back through his hair. His fingers came away sticky and coated with blood. He realized that they were about to be participants in their second fight of the night and a smile spread itself across his rugged features. "I'm alright. How about you?" Yahiko dodged a vicious slash from the shadowy figure's katana.
"I'm just fine." Yahiko returned as he caught his opponent's blade between his hands. There was the sound of muffled surprise as Yahiko twisted the sword out of the shadowy figure's hands. The dark figures on the roof jumped down and drew their swords. Yahiko drove his clenched fist into the figure's face and the man went down with a grunt. Sanosuke quickly found himself the object of attention as three of the men from the alley rushed him. Sano dodged the first of his attackers and as the man lunged past with sword extended, Sanosuke punched the blade. The timing was perfect. The katana seemed to vibrate in the man's hand for a moment and then it shattered into tiny fragments. The man clutched at his wrist as his hand seemed to burst at the same moment. He screamed in agony while Sanosuke danced around his second attacker's lunge and hit the man in the back of the head with a brutal roundhouse kick. His third opponent swung but Sanosuke quickly dodged out of the way, finding an opening and nailing the man in the face with a powerful punch sending him crashing into his two friends. The remaining shadowy figures stood back by the buildings watching the two fighters. Yahiko and Sanosuke backed up until they were in the middle of the ring of attackers. Yahiko rested his hand on the sakabatou and Sanosuke fell into his fighting stance.
"That it?" Sanosuke called out mockingly to the ring of figures. A quick count showed that there were about twenty of them standing in the ring, swords still sheathed.
"Who are you guys?" Yahiko called out to the figures when they didn't respond to Sanosuke's jibe.
"It's nothing personal, but you two have been marked for death." One of the shadowy figures spoke, though Yahiko couldn't tell which one. "Now die." As one the twenty men drew their swords.
"Nani?" Yahiko asked in disbelief. "What's going on? Who sent you?" The cloaked figures did not respond except to point their swords in their direction and walk towards them. As the ring of swords approached, Sanosuke turned to Yahiko and gave him a reassuring smile.
"Can you fly Yahiko?" He laced the fingers on his two hands together creating a sort of foothold. Yahiko immediately knew what he was thinking and nimbly put his foot into Sanosuke's hands. With his incredible strength Sanosuke launched Yahiko up into the air. The shadowy figures were about to rush toward Sano when he suddenly used both hands to punch the ground. A shock wave rumbled through the ground in all directions, sending all twenty of the men flying back through walls and into the alleys. A moment later Yahiko touched down on the ground beside Sanosuke.
"That technique! You perfected it?" Yahiko asked in amazement looking around at the unconscious figures. "I remember you doing that to one of those four men we fought back when we were rescuing Kaoru from Enishi, but it was nothing like that!" There was a small circular crater surrounding Sano and the dust was still settling. Sanosuke stood and absently rubbed his right hand.
"Futae no Kiwami with both hands. I had plenty of opportunity to perfect it while traveling through Mongolia and Arabia. You should see what that does to a sand dune." Yahiko remembered the fight years ago on the beach of Enishi's island. Sanosuke had shot sand everywhere with the attack before he had perfected it so Yahiko could only imagine what it would do to a pile of sand now.
Yahiko and Sanosuke turned in surprise to hear the sound of a gun being cocked. Thirty feet away one of the men had gotten to his feet and pulled a revolver from his dark cloak. "Gun!" Yahiko and Sanosuke both warned each other. Yahiko pulled the sakabatou from its sheath and traced it along the ground making rocks, dirt, and a powerful blast of air race toward the man. In the exact moment, Sanosuke extended the fingers on his right hand in a sort of open handed punch and drove his hand into the ground. As Anji the God of Destruction had done with a blade, Sanosuke sent a channeled burst of Futae no Kiwami racing beside Yahiko's Do Ryu Sen to smash into the man pointing the gun at them. The man was no match for either of the attacks, let alone a combined front. He flew back through the air screaming as he went. The gun fell from his grip and collapsed harmlessly to the ground.
Sanosuke and Yahiko stood and grinned at each other then walked toward the man who was moaning in agony but apparently still conscious. As they passed the gun Sano stooped to pick it up. He turned his head to give Yahiko a look and then tossed the gun into the air. Yahiko flipped the sakabatou and sliced the gun in two as it fell. He sheathed the sakabatou with a click before the pieces of the gun touched the ground.
"Why'd you guys attack us? Who set you up to this?" Sano asked the man as he pulled him up by the front of his cloak. The hood fell away revealing a man with a shaved head that had his face, head, and neck totally painted black. The man tried to respond but he lapsed into unconsciousness.
"Hmmmm" Sanosuke muttered, as he looked the man over. "I seem to remember hearing about some group of hired assassins who work from the shadows and paint their heads black. They're an efficient way of getting rid of someone that's opposing you or your organization. Only the richest Yakuza can afford them though. They have a guarantee policy, if I remember right. They don't even take a down payment until they've completed their assignment. These guys took a lot of my business back when I was a fighter for hire especially since I wouldn't kill." Sano's eyes darkened and he dropped the man back to the ground.
"What did they want with US though?" Yahiko asked in confusion. "For crying out loud Sano, you just got here TODAY! How could anyone possibly know you were back and hire these guys?" Sano's look told Yahiko that he didn't have a clue. The noise of the battle had apparently drawn the attention of the people who lived in the area and lights were beginning to shine out from the buildings. Someone screamed when they found an unconscious man lying in their house and a hole in their wall.
"Time to get scarce." Sano told Yahiko as the two of them took off running for the second time that night. A figure stood in the shadows and watched the two depart. He leaned against one of the buildings and smiled in satisfaction. That worked well. He thought to himself as he turned and walked out of the alley away from the scene. His tall blonde hair blew casually in the wind and he patted his favorite sword. When police arrived on the scene they found the group of assassins unconscious and in sorry shape. Most of them suffered from foot and leg injuries that seemed to be caused by extreme force. A strange circular indent was left in the middle of the blast radius. The assassins were arrested for destruction of public property, carrying illegal weapons, and disturbing the peace. An anonymous tip reported that the dark cloaked figures were also attempting to murder two men. The identity of the two individuals was not known and no description could be given, except that one of them 'kinda looked like a big chicken.' When the assassins were taken down to the prison one members of the Keishichou (Japanese Secret Police) was there waiting. He threw down a thick file and informed the police that the group of assassins was wanted for the murder of at least fifty-three people. The case was shut. Now on to more important matters. The blonde man thought to himself.
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Shirahadori is the title given to Yahiko at the end of the manga by common street thugs. (you know, all the nameless bad guys Yahiko and the others protect people from) Shirahadori means 'sword grabber' and it seems the young swordsman has perfected some interesting techniques!
What did Sano and Yahiko do to get targeted by the mysterious black cloaked guys? And who's this blonde haired secret police agent? (hope you can guess the answer to that one) Is there something else going on here? Find out in the next chapter!