Hitokiri Battousai, Rurouni
By
TigerWolf
~ Part Three ~
Himura walked out the back doors of the Inn to the gardens. He did not know whether to be angry at the girl or to let it go. She was definitely becoming more trouble then what she was worth and he would be happy to rid of her. But his mere curiosity over the girl drew him to her, and even though he was fighting the bond he felt for her, for all it was worth he could not. Though Himura's logical side of him was in effect. She could not be trusted. The extent of her skills had not been shown. He knew nothing about her, how she knew swordsmanship, why she was a Rurouni, and why she was the way she was. He should kill her and then there would be no complication--that was the only logical solution.
"Himura!" He looked towards the voice and scowled at the person for interrupting his thoughts. A messenger boy came up to him and stopped and bowed. "Th-this is t-the reply to your message to Kogoro-sama." He said, and left. He opened the sealed note and it read:
Himura-
Bring the girl to Takasugi Shinsaku residence. I will be waiting for your arrival there.
He folded the letter back up, put it in his gi and headed back in the inn to look for the girl. He stopped one of the servants and asked her if she had seen her, and she pointed him down the hall to the kitchen. As he reached the kitchen he could hear two girls laughing softly and saw Kaoru putting a clear ointment on a girl's face. "Now that should help that bruise you're getting and help the swelling." Then she turned to face Himura at the door.
"We are going to meet Kogoro-sama." He said simply. She nodded and said goodbye to the girl. The two stopped at the main doors to the inn to put their shoes on. For Himura is was just the traditional sandals, but Kaoru had to quickly tie her Waraji. (Think Sujirio's sandals, basically the same sandals as Himura but more secure to one's foot)
The two walked down the streets of Kyoto silently. Some of the groups of girls or men they passed made some rude comments about the way Kaoru was dressed, but she paid no attention to them. They had reached the outskirts of Kyoto and were walking the road into the forest and following a river. After almost a two hour walk from the inn they came upon the Takasugi Shinsaku residence. There were training grounds where men practiced, large barracks, a lovely garden, and a dojo by the main house.
As Kenshin and Kaoru walked the grounds to the main house, Kaoru could not help but asking, "Himura what is all of this?"
"It is recruitment activities to form an anti-shogunate group of warriors called The Kiheitai. It is also the place I was recruited from." Himura replied in his usual unemotional tone. Nothing was said after that.
Himura was directed to the gardens to find Kogoro-sama and Takasugi. As the two approached them they turned and met them half way. There was a long pause of silence between the four. Kogoro-sama and Takasugi were carefully looking Kaoru over. "I take it this is the girl of discussion, Himura?" He said to Himura then tuned to Kaoru, "I am Katsura Kogoro leader of the Choshu Ishinshishi. This is Takasugi Shinsaku second in command of the Choshu Ishinshishi." He said and they both gave a polite bow to her.
"It is nice to meet both of you. I am Kamiya Kaoru." Kaoru said while giving a bow.
"Kamiya, you say." Kogoro-sama said, "Come with me girl, we must talk. Himura, Takasugi you may join us." Kogoro then motioned for them to walk with him, Kaoru on his left side and the other two slightly behind them. "I know your father." He said simply. Himura felt her ki spark at that. It amazed him some for even when she fought he had not felt her ki rise at all. "He owns the Kamiya Dojo in Tokyo and is the master of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. This fighting technique is intended to protect people. I offered him a position in the Ishinshishi but he declined saying he had his family and his students to watch over, plus he did not believe in this war. That was some time ago though I am afraid. How is Kamiya and why are you so far form home?"
"My Father died nine years ago." Kaoru replied.
"That is a shame, he was an honorable man." There was a long pause, "What of your mother?"
"She died with my Father." Kaoru replied with no emotion. Sensing he wanted to know more she continued. "They were both killed by a man who came to challenge the dojo. When they found me alive and with no relatives that could be found. They took me to the town's orphanage, and then I escaped. I wondered in the forest between Tokyo and Kyoto and there I meet a man who adopted me his deshi."
"I see." Kogoro-sama replied. Himura though was listening to Kaoru's story, and felt something… sympathy? Maybe that was what it was. But Himura was brought out of his thoughts by Kogoro-sama speaking again. "Forgive my rudeness but do you realize the situation you are in right now?"
"I believe so. You as the leader of the Choshu Ishinshishi have to decide whether you can let me wander again. I can tell you I am not a Shogunate, that I am not. So far I have been cooperative with the Ishinshishi for one reason, so I can leave in peace and not be bothered with your group tracking me down. I am a Rurouni, I wander to help the people. Take it as my way of following my father's ideals. I tell you I am of no threat to you." Kaoru said seriously. As she was talking she stopped walking to stress her point.
"That may be, but I believe you understand when I say this. I can not allow you to wander any more. What you know about the Ishinshishi I can not risk being released. So I give you some choices. You can give up your swordsmanship and stay under the protection of the Ishinshishi. Or you can join us in helping the new era come forth. You say you want to help the people, that is our goal also. We want to give the people more choice and more freedom. But in order to create the new era the old one must be destroyed, and you can help us and the people by bring the new forward. Will you?" Kaoru looked at the man for a few seconds then looked out into the ripples of the river that was next to the path they walked.
/~~\
Flashback
A man fell in front of a young girl wearing a kimono who could be no older then five. In his hand was a bokken held lifelessly, and a pool of blood was forming beneath him. A man was standing laughing at the now dead man; in his hand he held a bloody katana. The young girl rushed up to the fallen man. Her black hair was falling freely over her shoulders, and blue eyes shinning with tears that would not fall. "Father! Father!" She yelled. She got no response. She then took up the bokken from her father's lifeless hand and turned to the murderer in a ready stance.
"Kaoru, No!" A woman yelled as she threw herself in front of the girl, pushing them to the door. At the same time the man slashed the woman across the back. "Kaoru, live…. grow strong and help the people, but for now run, get away." She said between breaths.
"Mother..." The girl said, but her voice was weak.
"Go!" She ordered her child as she took the bokken from the small one's hands. The little one complied and ran to the front gates, only looking back once to see her mother making a last stand agaist the murder.
/~~\
Kaoru took a deep breath. "I will help you, for I can not give up my sword nor my life. For that I will join you." Kogoro-sama nodded his head in understanding. Himura looked at the girl with curiosity. He wondered what she was thinking when she stared out into the water, and what the hidden meaning in her words was.
Takasugi was the next to speak. Though he was silent through the entire conversation, he could not help but wonder about the girl. "If that is the case then we should test your skills." Kogoro-sama nodded at this.
/~~\
Kaoru and Takasugi stood on one of the dirt training grounds. Unknown to Kaoru, it was the same training ground that Himura was discovered in. Five men also stood in the same rectangular arena awaiting the upcoming fight. "Kaoru-san, this is a test of your skill. You are to try to defeat the five. I tell you now they are some of my better recruitments. Good luck." Takasugi told her, and then walked up the stairs to where Kogoro-sama and Himura stood to watch.
"How do you think she will do?" Kogoro-sama asked Takasugi.
"I don't know, we are putting her agaist my top five recruits, so we will see." Himura looked down on the fight that was to start any moment now. Secretly he was anxious in seeing the girl's skill.
/~~\
Kaoru looked at the five men. They were all well built, and only held a katana at there sides. She smiled at them, well, more smirked at them. The five of them spread out around the arena almost circling her and drew their katanas. The one closest, who was about fifteen feet away spoke to her. "Well, let's see what a girl can do, come on." He taunted her. Kaoru started to bounce her left foot up and down while replying to the man with a smile. "As you wish. I am sorry about this."
/~~\
Himura watched her closely. 'What is she doing? What is she doing with her foot?' He thought. Then the three observers watched in amazement as she disappeared. Then the three of them watched as she would appear again every few feet, but quickly closing the distance on the man. She drew her katana and the man was sent flying back from the impact. In no less then ten seconds she attacked and defeated the three of the others with a combination of her katana and her wakizashi. The last one blocked her blows, and she slid to a halt about ten to fifteen feet away from him with both of her swords crossed in front of her. "That was as fast as my god-like speed from Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, maybe even faster." Himura replied unbelievably.
"I believe that was Shukchi." Kogoro-sama said. "Shukuchi was a form of speed that goes even faster then your god-like speed. With powerful footwork, one can reach top speeds from the initial acceleration. It's a legendary martial arts move to bring the enemy within reach instantly. They call it shukunchi because it seems as if the user performs some magic to get rid of the distance as if he is teleported. It is so fast that you can't see it no matter what." He continued.
During the explanation, the two below stayed unmoving. Then Kaoru put her katana and wakizashi back in their scabbards. She then turned her body sidewise to her opponent. She put one hand on her katana's scabbard just below the hilt and the other hand just inches away from the hilt, ready for the draw. "What's this, Battoujutsu?" Takasugi said. Himura nodded, all too familiar with the stance. Then she was gone. Her opponent was fast and attacked at the same moment, but he was not fast enough. In less then a second he was defeated. Kaoru skidded to a halt, head bowed down. She stood and put her katana back in its scabbard.
/~~\
Wow, that's out. Ok to any hardcore RK fans let me explain Shukuchi. Yes it is an ability Soujirou has. But the only reason it worked agaist Kenshin was because he could mask his ki and Kenshin's strength comes from reading into the opponents emotions and thinking ahead he lakes them. Then add shukuchi, the superior god-like speed that can't be seen at all you have problems for Kenshin. Trust me I researched this one.
Ok one more question to answer to some of you maybe. You might ask why is Kaoru a threat to them. It's all because she knows where the inn is, there headquarters and now that training ground. That info. going to the wrong people would be bad.
Ok thank you for your reviews, some of you may understand how much that is an encouragement to me. I really enjoy reading them. I hope this chap was not a disappointment. I just had to set some things up, and I had to give her some ability's. So please forgive me if it dose not live up to expectations.
Thanks and please keep reviewing.
-TigerWolf
Edited by --Tecera