Disclaimer: Pleeze don't remind me. (snffl)
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Chapter 3
Ite, he thought, grimacing.
The cut along his shoulder was pretty nasty; he almost 'owch'ed when he tightened the bandage. It was misty out, early morning, and the men were just beginning to stir from their beds. Himura set his swords down for a moment to rebandage his wound.
A few of the other men were watching him from over the wall. They weren't aware of the fact that he'd known they were there for quite some time now, and that their whispering was so loud he could hear what they were saying without even straining his ears.
"Wow, look at that," Tarou whispered loudly. "That gotta hurt, looks almost two inches deep."
"Yeah, and he's not even flinching."
"How long has the hitokiri been here? Seems every time I see Battousai he's either here or nowhere. Maybe he sleeps here too."
"Actually," Himura said loudly, "I sleep in a very secure place that I should hope is only known to me. Get down here."
The four men's faces went a very unattractive shade of grey green. They gulped.
"Well, are you coming or not?" Himura said impatiently, slipping the shoulder of his gi back on over the bandage. His jaw was set, and had the men looked closely they would have seen a tenseness in his frame.
Slowly the soldiers climbed down form the wall and embarrassedly stood at attention.
"So," Himura remarked. "Curious, are we?" The men exchanged glances.
"Tell you what," he said slyly. "I want you four to attempt to eavesdrop on
me every day from here 'till the end of training classes. If you actually
manage to pull it off, I let you know. How's that?" The men looked
uncertain of how to respond to this.
"Now then, tell me your names."
"Uh, well sir, this is Tarou. I'm Kuroi, and these two are Takashi and Kenta."
"I assume you all have had some experience in kenjitsu?"
"Aa, we took a course, out of necessity in self defense and a few other--"
"Wait. Are you telling me the classes you took were the entrance training classes at the base?"
"Y...yes." Himura sighed, putting a hand through his hair. Oh boy. This is worse than I thought.
"Tell the other men to get in here. We've got a longer ways to go than I originally planned."
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The soldiers stood before Battousai with their katana, barefoot and in standard training clothes. Himura sat cross-legged in the corner, katana propped against his shoulder once more, and he was looking extremely bored. The men exchanged uncomfortable glances.
After a few long moments the hitokiri finally stood, brushing of his hakama, and he froze them in place with his yellow gaze.
"So...here they are."
Himura began to walk between the troops, studying each man very hard. After he'd surveyed the entire group he walked to the front once again.
"Okay. From the look of things, I'm going to have to do this the hard way. You," he said, pointing to the first man on the left. "Come."
The man looked extremely nervous, wearing a grey hakama and white gi that contrasted sharply with his short-cropped black hair. He motioned to the man to step forward. "Saa, stand here. Show me your stance, then come straight for me. Use whatever move you want."
Himura turned his back to the man.
The white-clad man swallowed, then set his jaw. He took his stance.
"No. Shift your left foot two inches to the right. I can practically see you heading for my left shoulder. Turn. You're being far too easy to read."
The man stared but did as he was told. How could the boy tell what he was
doing when he wasn't even facing him? It was ridiculous.
Oh well.
With a kick off from the ground the man ran and leaped for Battousai's
right shoulder. The boy whipped around, grabbed the man's arm, twisting it
around made him drop the katana and knocked him away with his own
sheath.
All in less than two seconds.
The men stared as their comrade lay groaning. "Shishou always said pain was the best teacher," murmured Himura. "Koi."
This exercise went on until every man had tried twice. After an hour and a half they were all groaning and rocking with pain. Himura stood with his hands on his hips, shaking his head.
"We are definitely going to have to work with kata. This is ridiculous," he
muttered. Kuroi limped up to him. "I want to try again," he gasped. "I'm not
giving up yet."
Ah. Finally, a breakthrough. He turned. "Koi."
The hitokiri felt Kuroi prepare his stance, sensing his ki. This one was a bit more promising than the others. At least he didn't give up.
The man took off, running for Himura at top speed. Timing it he faked to the left, then aimed for his right flank. Himura blocked it easily, but smiled as he kicked him into the dirt. "Good. You're learning. There is no way you'd be able to take me on, nor any of the Shinsengumi, but try that on a sparring partner or on the battlefield, you might actually make it. Again."
Kuroi smiled weakly.
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About two hours after the session was over, Himura called them together
for another. A few of the men let out protesting groans.
"So soon?"
"Yes. A battle doesn't stop just because you're tired or injured," Battousai said coolly. "This time you'll have training partners. I can't keep beating up my students so badly that they can't improve." He gave a wry smile.
A few of the men glared at him, muttering under their breath.
Training ensued once again. Again the men were knocked about, again Kuroi was one of the most promising. But the rest of the men seemed to be a lost cause. Himura was growing exasperated.
"No," he barked. "Stop right there. You can't get anywhere with a stance like that. Your hands should be one on top of the other on the hilt, not each other." He sighed. "Baka de--" Himura pulled up short.
No. He did not just say that.
"What in the...?" I can't believe I just said that, he thought confusedly,
shaking his head. He turned to the man he'd just corrected.
"Okay listen, if I ever say that again, you slap me. Got it?" The man stared
at him blankly.
I have got to quit that, he thought furiously. First that incident with the
sake and now this!
"Turning into me, you say? Hmf. Not possible," snorted a familiar voice. Kenshin froze.
No. Freaking. Way.
Slowly, very slowly, he turned to see who'd spoken, hardly daring to breathe. It couldn't be.
"Maa, maa." A tall man with dark hair tied back in a ponytail sat on the wall, his red-collared cape strewn across the stone, calming taking yet another swig of sake.
"So now you're taking on students of your own?" Hiko said dryly. "Hm. That seems a rather...odd thing for you to do. I was under the impression that you'd had enough of training."
The gathered men stopped their practicing, watching as this strange man jumped down from the wall. His white cape swirled around him as he casually strode forward.
"And such a sorry-looking lot," Hiko remarked. "I would have thought you'd choose your pupils a little more carefully." The man paused in front of the soldier the hitokiri had been correcting. "If I recall correctly, it took you about six months just to get that kata right." He snorted. "Baka-deshi."
Himura could do nothing more than stare as Hiko approached him. He
towered over the boy.
"...Shishou?" Battousai whispered wonderingly.
The man gave a half-smile. Then his expression darkened. "You were hurt." He touched a hand to Himura's shoulder. His eye twitched. "So, who was it? Shinsengumi?"
Kenshin tried raggedly to gather his thoughts and form a rational sentence.
"No...the battle--"
Hiko abruptly slapped the hitokiri's shoulder. He fell with a cry, bent on one knee.
His master glared at him. "Baka da! Haven't I taught you enough for you to avoid an amateur's sword? Kono baka-deshi ga!"
With some difficulty Himura stood.
"I have learned, but," he gritted. "I was..." The hitokiri looked embarrassed.
"I was drunk."
Hiko looked at him blankly, then burst into hysterical laughter. "Haahahah!
You may be more like me than you know!" One of the men helped Himura up
as Hiko finished his laughing fit.
"Well, at least you've learned something," he told him, eyes sparkling with tears of laughter. "You've learned to like your sake. As I remember you didn't much care for it."
"Shishou, I was seven years old."
"Ah, sou da na. Well, now that you're old enough to like it, let's go teach you to hold it. Tell the men to take today off." Hiko glanced amusedly at the gathered men. "I think they'll appreciate it."
With that, the Hiiten Mitsurugi master turned Himura around and pushed the hitokiri out the door.
The men looked at each other uncertainly.
"Weird," Kuroi muttered.
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AAAAAAAAAH! TOO SHORT!! I KNOW!!! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!!!
Gomen nasai minna!!
PLEEZE REVIEW! I went through lot of grief trying to get even this one chapter up! So please do review!!! Whoo...Guess it's a plus I'm still alive after that beating from Hiko...(rubs jaw)