Author's note : Thanks for all the reviews. They definitely help, believe me. This is so much harder to write then action but still a bit easier than humor ^_^

Just a quick reminder 'cause it gets a bit condensed at the end of this chapter:

Normal font – Kaoru's POV (1st person)

Bold font – Anything printed (letters, articles, etc)

Bold Italic font – Flashback

Italic font – Kenshin's POV (3rd person)

It's pretty obvious whose saying what, but it's worth repeating.

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Last Chance at Glory
Chapter 3 : The Mountain

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"Hurry up, Yahiko!"

I readjusted the weight on my shoulder with a frown. The walk here had been a bit more tiring then I expected. Of course with all the food and equipment we had to bring, I should have realized it would be tough. No matter how much Yahiko glared at me, I knew he'd be glad when we had warm blankets and precooked food tonight.

I paused and looked up, finally seeing a break in the foliage. And there it was. Mount Fuji, towering up to the heavens, surrounded by clouds. It was such a humbling sight. It made me feel so small and yet so completely in touch with nature. This was a good idea, we'd be able to clear our minds, connect with nature and…

"HEY BUSU! Move your big butt out of the way," Yahiko said, walking in front of me.

My eyebrow twitched. A series of very painful maneuvers flashed through my mind, followed quickly by the desire to try every single one of them on my impudent student.

"It's bigger than I thought it would be," he said suddenly and my anger swept away. He was looking up at the mountain with the same look of awe I had. "I always wanted to see it up close…" He paused and I saw something cross his face.

I smiled. Yahiko always had that look when he was about to say something nice to me but couldn't find the strength to do it. It's all right. I knew what he was thinking. This was a good idea.

"Oh you'll see it up close," I said with a smile. "You'll see the top of it." He nodded. Climbing Mount Fuji was a bit daunting but he wasn't going to complain. "But first… Hakone."

Yahiko snickered. "Going to get your portrait painted again?"

I hit on the head for good measure. There was no reason to bring that up. But it still made me smile to remember that poor, misguided artist and his 'attempts' to beat Kenshin.

I sighed. So much from not thinking about the redheaded rurouni during this trip. Why did everything remind me of him? No, I wasn't going to mope. Let him go off where ever he was going and do whatever he needed to do. This was about Yahiko and I and our training.

Hakone came up in front of us and it was just a wonderful as I remembered. I wondered if Yahiko even knew the significance of what this place once was. The Tokugawa shogunate had built it to prevent two things from leaving Edo, guns and women.

But no one stopped me today. They didn't even acknowledge us as we passed through the town. I wasn't interested in Hakone this time. Fuji-san was the only place I wanted to visit.

"Can't we just stop for one night?" Yahiko asked.

I looked over at him angrily. "This isn't a vacation," I snapped. "This is training. We'll sleep outside to strengthen ourselves for the climb tomorrow."

"Why is it so important to climb anyway?" he asked.

"Because there was a time that I wasn't allowed to."

Yahiko looked at me a bit confused and I had to explain that until Meiji, women were not allowed on the mountain. I think he was expecting me to get upset at him for not knowing that. But it was the exact opposite. Yahiko was part of a generation that would never know what it was like to grow up under the Tokugawa. And when they were grandparents, the memory of it would have faded completely.

"So I want to climb it now," I finished, "because I can."

* * *

"You can not continue!"

"Otosan, you promised me one month to prove myself. I still have…"

"No! It was a bad idea. You should have not made it this far."

"But I did. Why won't you let me have the chance to prove I can master Kamiya Kasshin Ryu?"

"Because you… you should not be involved in swordsmanship."

"Why? If a woman can leave Tokyo now without question… if she can climb to the top of Mount Fuji, why can't she take up the sword? How many women in the past have done it anyway?"

"My daughter will not be one of them."

"Your daughter has made her choice."

There was a long silence as the conversation came to an impasse. The little girl was not moving but concentrated on her father's face. He looked at her with anger matching her own.

"I didn't want to have to do this," he said finally. "But you will have learn the true nature of the sword. Tomorrow, you will fight and you will learn."

* * *

Hakone was suddenly behind me and the road was finally turning towards Fuji. I pushed the pace, knowing that Yahiko's back must hurt as much as mine. But it became obvious we wouldn't make it there today.

We spent a few minutes collecting out breath before setting up camp. The sun had already begun to set and we needed a fire going before we lost the last bit of light. As soon as it was roaring away, we unpacked the blankets and food and just relaxed.

I enjoyed the silence. Having become so used to the sounds of Tokyo, moments like this had become precious. The crickets were chirping in the background while the wind rustled through the tree. It was so… peaceful.

"Ne, Kaoru?"

I blinked and looked over at Yahiko, waiting for the snide comment. "Nani?"

"This was a good idea," he said firmly. And I just nodded.

* * *

The train whistled once more before pulling out of the station onto the next destination. Kenshin walked down the steps, pulling the bag over his shoulder and taking in the sights and sounds of Kyoto. Every time here made it a bit easier to come the next time. But there were still a lot of memories that seemed too fresh.

He wound his way through the streets, walking a somewhat familiar path the Aoiya. He felt a bit guilty about showing up like this, without sending a letter in advance. But there hadn't been anytime to do it.

He heard the noise before he even saw the building. The Aoiya was packed for lunch and he had to weave his way through people to find someone familiar.

"Himura-san!" Omasu said as soon as she saw him.

He bowed slightly in greeting. "Hello again, Omasu-dono. I am sorry that…"

"You're late," she said impatiently. "The train got in at least twenty minutes ago. What took you so long?"

Kenshin blinked in surprise and then smiled. Of course… this place also doubled as the home of the Oniwabanshu, a group of spies who probably knew more about Japan then the Emperor himself. Should he have been surprised that his arrival had not gone unnoticed?

"Misao went out to get you," Omasu said. "Aoshi is… meditating of course. Everyone else is very busy. As you can see there are a lot of people here."

"Can I help?" he asked.

Omasu nodded. "There are dishes in the back that need to be done and…" she trailed off, eyes opening wide.

Kenshin's senses prickled and he prepared himself for what was coming. It happened so quickly, he barely had time to steady himself as the weight of the little girl hit him at full speed.

"Himura!" Misao said happily. She let him go long enough to catch his breath. "You're late! I went to look for you."

"Gomensai, Misao-dono," he replied with a smile.

"Oi," Omasu called. "If you two are done talking, we could really use some help here."

"Coming!" Misao replied, dragging Kenshin into the back.

* * *

"We made it!" Yahiko said.

I nodded. "To the base at any rate." Looking up at the mountain, I really had to wonder if this was a good idea. Fuji looked so… tall. And impassable. And…

"We're really going to climb that?" Yahiko asked.

I wasn't going to back down now so I looked at him firmly and nodded. I steeled myself, took the first step forward and started to climb.

It was easy at first, just one foot after the other. But half a day into the hike and it was almost impossible to keep walking straight. My feet hurt, my back was screaming in protest. I wanted to stop.

I looked back and Yahiko was following me silently. His face never betrayed his feelings, never expressed his emotions. He was so strong, I realized. Only eleven years old and this strong. I could only wonder where his path would take him one day.

I didn't want to stop but someone else stepped in. The strap on my bag suddenly broke and the bag came tumbling off my shoulder and towards him. Yahiko moved quickly, stopping the bag before it went any further.

"Watch it!" he yelled. "Che… are you trying to kill me?"

"It's not like I made the bag strap break," I protested.

"Feh, knowing you, you probably did."

I glowered and tried to contain my anger.

"And this is the bag with food in it," he said, putting down his pack. "If we lost the food then we'd be stuck eating whatever we found on this mountain. We don't know what's poisonous or not! Of course, if you cooked it…"

"That's enough of that Yahiko-CHAN."

"Don't call me CHAN!"

We stared at each other angrily for a few minutes before just collapsing on the ground in exhaustion. That little fight had managed to knock us both down. It figured that we could make it this far only to let the exhaustion take us during a fight.

I started to laugh. It was rather funny after all. And next to me, I know I heard Yahiko chuckle as well.

"Well, since you sat down," I said. "We might as well have lunch."

"I didn't sit down! You sat down first!"

"You put down your pack first."

"No I didn't! Yours came off first!"

"Because the strap broke!"

"And whose fault is that, tanuki musume?"

* * *

"Come on tanuki musume. Give me your best shot."

Kaoru's eyes narrowed. What had he just called her? Her grip tightened on the shinai. Her front leg leaned forward, slowly picking the heel of the ground. The movement was so slight that her opponent never saw it.

The only thing he saw was the shinai come straight at his head. He flinched and fell backwards, landing roughly on his behind. The assembled group started to laugh.

"What are you laughing for?" the sensei yelled. "A girl half your age just beat your classmate. Is that funny?"

"No, sensei," came the response.

Kaoru straightened up and looked over at her father, eyes narrowed. Even now, he wasn't going to be on her side.

"This weak little girl shouldn't be a problem for any of you," he said. "Matsuda," he said looking at the man on the floor. "Get out of this dojo. Go home and practice. Until you can block a simple strike you are not allowed back in here."

The man looked at his sensei with no emotions and bowed slightly. All the anger and hate he had been feeling he saved for Kaoru and bundled it up in a nasty glare that he shot her as he left.

No, her father wasn't going to be on her side. More like the exact opposite.

"Kamiya Kasshin Ryu is a style of protection. How can you hope to protect people if you can't protect yourselves from a girl?" He looked around the room. "Who's next?"

* * *

"Don't CALL ME THAT!" I yelled throwing the nearest thing I could find at Yahiko. He dodged and came back with a smile, meaning he wasn't ready for the second throw. It hit him square on the forehead and he cursed, falling backwards.

He put his hand to his forehead and it came back slightly red. Blood? His eyes seemed to say. I just rolled my eyes and opened my hand to show him the berries I had picked off the ground. His anger increased at least tenfold but I just started to laugh. And after a few seconds, he seemed to find the humor in it to and began to laugh.

"Yeah it is kind of funny," he said standing up and brushing himself off. "But let's see how you like it!"

He lunged faster than I thought he could and I felt the berries crush in my hair. I let out a horrified little yelp before I went after him.

"Come back here!" I cried running after him as he took off, bounding around the rocks.

It never occurred to worry about the bags we left behind. Besides, we hadn't seen anyone else during our climb up. What was the worse that could happen?

* * *

The dirt path looked more worn then he remembered. The tiny hut in front of him still spewed out a white cloud of smoke to the sky. It looked like nothing had changed since Kenshin had been there last.

Amazing. That's the only word he could use to describe this. He had faced all sorts of odds in fights, beaten the best swordsmen in Japan and still… still he always felt his stomach knot when he followed this road.

He paused in front of the door and knocked. There was a pause and some shuffling inside before the door flung open.

Hiko Seijuurou stood in front of him, a mountain of a man. The billowing cloak sat on his shoulders, covered slightly by the cascade of hair. His eyes looked up and then down at the short red headed man in front of him.

"Baka deshi," he said unhappily.

"Shishou," Kenshin said kneeling to the ground. "I am sorry to disturb you."

"It appears your purpose in life is to disturb me," Hiko said. "What do you want? You know everything I could teach you about Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu." Hiko paused. "Of course, this isn't about that, is it? What then?"

"Shishou… I came to ask you a question… about…"

Hiko paused and then started to laugh, a loud rumbling sound that echoed through the mountains. Kenshin looked up a bit perplexed. "Tell this is about an enemy," Hiko laughed. "Tell me this is about a threat to Japan."

"No," Kenshin said softly. "It's not…"

"I know it's not baka deshi," Hiko said, slowly starting to come back in control. "I just couldn't believe that you would come all this way to talk about women."

Kenshin paused and wondered how good an idea this had been. But then… who else could he have asked? As much as Hiko berated him, Kenshin knew that he was as close to a father as he was going to get. But then… this was Hiko.

"Look around you," Hiko said. "Are you sure that a man who lives in the forest alone is the one you should be asking?"

Kenshin nodded. That was his answer. "I'm sorry to have disturbed you," he said standing up.

"Oi," Hiko said. "You think you can just disturb me and then just leave? Go get the bucket and bring back some water."

Kenshin balked. He couldn't be serious. But a few minutes later, Kenshin found himself struggling with a full bucket back up the road to Hiko's little hut. This was ridiculous… but who else was there to ask in the end? Aoshi?? Ha! Even if Sano was here, Kenshin didn't think his friend would be the best source of information.

He sighed as he dropped the bucket of water in the hut. Hiko looked over at him with a smile and a chuckle. Kenshin scowled. Hiko had definitely not been the best choice.

"Is that all, shishou?" he asked.

Hiko looked over and pointed at the bucket and then the pot above the fire. Kenshin paused for a second before following the directions.

"Now can I go?" Kenshin asked.

"You could go anytime you want," Hiko replied. "It's just amusing that you still listen to what I tell you to do." Kenshin balked.

Hiko sighed and sat back in his seat. "What are you doing here, baka deshi? Why aren't you back in Tokyo producing a couple of kids with that girl of yours?"

Kenshin sat down on the ground and folded his arms. Hiko laughed again. "You used to do that when you were younger. It meant, you didn't want to talk about it." He carefully placed the clay flask into the warming water.

"But you do want to talk about it, since you came up here," Hiko said. "And I am your shishou so I should be able to answer any question you have."

Kenshin sat still for a moment and then relaxed slightly. "It's… not simple."

"Of course it's not," Hiko replied. "If it was, what would the point be to life? So she said no?"

"No, it's not that."

"Did you ask?"

"No… I…"

"Why not?"

Kenshin paused. "Doubt," he replied.

"Doubt?"

"In her eyes. There's always doubt. I think I know why but… I don't know what to do." Kenshin stopped. There was silence. After a few moments, he looked up at Hiko.

"Baka deshi," the man said suddenly. "What did I teach you?"

"What?" Kenshin asked, somewhat confused.

"What do you do when you look in an opponent's eye and see doubt?"

"Attack," Kenshin replied. "Don't give them the chance to think… just attack. But… but this isn't the same!"

"It's not?" Hiko replied. "How is it not?"

"She's not an enemy! She's not someone to attack!"

"No, she's not," Hiko said with a sigh as he pulled out the ceramic flask and took a sip. Kenshin shook his head. Hiko made no sense what so ever! Hiko frowned and put the flask back into the warm water.

"What happens when you let an enemy think about their doubt?" Hiko asked.

Kenshin paused. "It… it depends."

"No," Hiko replied. "It's always the same. The doubt completely controls them and they'll run away or collapse into a quivering pile of cowardice. That's the thing about doubt. The minute you have it, it's almost impossible to get rid of and it just keeps getting worse. As a swordsman, you can use it and exploit it in your opponent, destroy your target before they have the chance to get away. But in life… doubt is something much crueler. Because there is no swift escape from it like a sword to the gut."

The room fell quiet, broken only by the boiling water in the pot. Hiko reached over and grabbed the flask. "Tell me, when you came to Kyoto… did she ever doubt you would return?"

Kenshin paused, remembering bits and pieces of the stories he had heard. "For a while…"

"But then she came here," Hiko replied. "It meant, she overcame her own doubts to do so. Wouldn't it be wise to do the same for her now?"

"But I don't dou…"

"Then why are you here?" Hiko interrupted. Hiko took a sip of the flask and nodded firmly. "No man can give up their past, the bad of it… and the good. But to dwell on it, to worry it will repeat again, means you live a life of doubt. Don't say good-bye to it... just say thank you and move on."

Kenshin looked up and watched Hiko drink down the flask. "Shishou…"

Hiko held up a hand. "Don't think of saying anything mushy now. I didn't do this for you. I except your first born here before they turn five. Maybe then I'll be able to train someone worthy of being the heir to Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu."

* * *

"Yahiko! COME BACK HERE!!"

Yahiko bounded up the cliff, deftly moving among the rocks. I stopped to catch my breath, realizing it was harder than I remembered to do so. Was I out of shape?

"KAORU!"

I bolted, running up to the cliff where Yahiko's cry had come from. I slid to a stop in front of him and wondered what had caused him to yell like that. And then I saw it. A tori gate in front of him and one in the distance.

"We made it?" he asked.

I paused and nodded. We had been climbing for a long time. And I had read it should only take a little more than half a day to do it. I covered my mouth to hide the smile. But he saw it and shared it. After all… only the two of us would get so caught up in trying to kill each other that we would run the last part of the climb.

"Can we go to the top?"

I nodded and watched as he took off, taking the steps a few at a time. I wanted to call out for him to be careful, that it was harder to breath here. But his youthful energy was already taking him up to the top.

I took in a deep breath and followed after him. Up at the top, Yahiko stood transfixed by what he saw. To the east was the barest outline of Tokyo. The green forests seemed to completely encircle it and the mountain as well. In the distance was the ocean, a clear blue for as far as I could see.

"It's… so pretty," he said finally.

I nodded. "It really is."

"I always wanted to come here," he said again. "My father said he would take me but…" Yahiko trailed off.

Carefully, I put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and paused for a moment, as if torn with what to say.

"Arigato," he said finally. And I just nodded.

We turned back to the beauty of the vista. Master and student… but something more. My little brother.

"Kaoru?" he said.

"Yes Yahiko?"

"What's that?" he asked pointing towards the water. I paused and looked, trying to make out what he was looking out. The ocean was blue for most of what I could see. But then at the end… Gray, white and fuzzy. And growing in size rather quickly. I shook my head.

"I don't think that's a good thing," I said suddenly.

"Is it a typhoon?" he asked.

The season was right but… no it couldn't be. Not now.

"The equipment!" I said, suddenly realizing our mistake. "We have to go back and get it." I took off, heading down again. We could make it, we could get the stuff and then come back to the top, to seek shelter in the shrine there.

The rain started before we were even halfway back. And it wasn't the pleasant sort of summer rain at all. It was angry, large pellets of water flung down from the sky. How far away was the equipment? We couldn't have been running for more than an hour! The sky turned black and the winds began. Running down became all the more harder.

"Kaoru!" Yahiko called, grabbing onto my sleeve. "We have to go back!"

But no! The equipment! The armor!! I couldn't leave it. I didn't have any more or the money to replace it! But Yahiko was right… this was too getting dangerous.

"Go back to the shrine, Yahiko," I yelled over the wind. "I have to get the equipment."

"Baka! You think I'd leave you here by yourself!"

"Yahiko, don't argue with me!"

"No! I'm not…"

There was a loud rumbling and I looked up. It looked like half the mountain was coming down towards us. Mudslide, my mind screamed, you have to…

The wave hit us before we even had the chance to react. I felt myself swept away, struggling to keep above the rising tide of dirt. I saw the large rock and snapped my hand out, catching it quickly and holding on tight with both hands.

I realized something was coming towards me and let the left hand go, letting fall into the mud and catching the figure coming towards me. I pulled for a minute and brought Yahiko as close to the rock as possible. A large gash on his head confirmed my fears. He was out cold.

The mud started to slow down and I realized this was my only chance. Going down with the flow meant I could loose control too easily and get buried without knowing it. I had to climb up against it, find some sort of shelter and wait this out.

I put one foot down and stepped forward, pushing against the mud.

"AGAIN! Takayama… that was pathetic! She beat you in two strikes! NEXT!"

I could do this. I just had to believe I could.

"Three of you! Why have three of my students been beaten so easily?"

Another step and my muscles were screaming for release. The mud was only to my knees now but it was still so difficult to move through it.

"This is just a little girl. It should not be this hard to defeat her!"

My foot slipped and I hit the ground hard, barely holding on to Yahiko. My hand was buried quickly in the mud. Was it running stronger again?

"She is just a weak little girl!"

It was getting stronger! The rain was picking up again so the mud would come again. I needed to move. I needed to get away from here as quickly as possible.

Kenshin sat in front of the memorial tablet, watching the incense burn, the reverse bladed sword sitting on his lap. Silent words ran through his mind and he smiled. It had been a good time. One of the few from back then. And he didn't want to say good-bye at all.

The wetness on my face was from more than just the rain, the salty taste burned my lips. It was too much, I couldn't do it. I couldn't fight against it anymore.

He didn't want to say good-bye. So he just said thank you.

No, I can't give up, I realized, looking down at Yahiko. I can't give up because I needed to get both of us to safety. Because Yahiko was depending on me to save him.

He pulled the blade from its sheath, letting the blade catch the light.

Because I could do this.

Slowly, he leaned his head forward, flipping the blade around and putting the dull end by his neck.

I can do this.

He pulled upward, cutting through the long red hair until the blade was free. He looked down at his hand, seeing the bushel of hair. He smiled slightly and let it fall in front of the marker.

I will do this.

"Who else? Have all my years as sensei been wasted?"

One step at a time, I thought. That's how I've always done it.

"She has beaten each and everyone of you…"

And it worked. The river of mud was behind me and the slightly elevated part of the mountain was acting like a little island of safety. I collapsed there, bringing Yahiko next to me just as the mud moved again, sweeping down the mountain but far away from us.

I looked up in the sky and let the rain fall down on my face, washing away the tears and the dirt. And I smiled.

"Otosan… I fulfilled my promise. One month and I have beaten all your beginning students. Now you must teach me the way of the sword. Teach me Kamiya Kasshin Ryu."