Tanuki To Ryuu
Well here it is, Chapter 5! In a way it's a milestone. I'm proving I can get this fic out!
Don't ask me how many parts this fic will have. It will go on until I feel its done. Also,
anyone who wants to, PLEASE e-mail me or contact me by AIM or ICQ! Fan response
is greatly appreciated!
Chapter 5: The First Test of Succession
***
It was only three days since Kenshin started training her for her final tests and
Kaoru was amazed at her progress. She was amazed she never noticed the subtle flow of
ki through everyone and how much it could reveal. At the moment, she was standing in
the center of the dojo with a blindfold over her eyes and held her shinai out, ready for the
lesson Kenshin cooked up for her.
Kaoru swiftly held her shinai high and to the right, and successfully blocked one
strike, then pushed her opponent back and quickly blocked another strike low and to the
left. Kenshin said that today's lesson in ken-ki would be a surprise, but she didn't expect
a sparring partner. She felt someone try to strike her high and from behind and she spun
around and striked where she suspected the opponent to be and heard a loud grunt in pain
as her shinai made contact with her attacker. She then sensed someone else from her left
side and low also about to attack and rolled out of the way and responded with a jab in
what she hoped was the chest and heard another grunt of pain.
"Alright, Kaoru," Kenshin's voice said, "You can take off the blindfold." Kaoru
removed her blindfold and saw both Yahiko and Yutaro on the dojo floor, both laid there
with shinais grasped in their hands and both moaning in pain.
"I was fighting both of them? At once? Blindfolded?" Kaoru asked, shocked at
what she acomplished. She couldn't believe she made this much progress in that extra
sensory perception.
"Well, you ARE their master," Kenshin pointed out, "And its not like its
something you didn't know how to do. All swordsmen can subconsciously sense ken-ki,
its just you needed to fine-tune your sense a bit,"
Kaoru smiled at Kenshin and replied, "I guess you're right. So, I guess we can
head out to the Akabeko for dinner tonight?"
"Sounds like a good idea. What about those two?" Kenshin asked as he gestured
to Kaoru's two students as they tried to catch their breath.
"Yahiko! Try to teach Yutaro a few of the intermediate forms and try to get him
up to speed," Kaoru ordered. "And you two better not kill eachother!"
Yahiko stumbled on his feet and used his shinai as a crutch to support himself.
"Alright, Kaoru. Come on, cat-eyes, get up! I have to teach you!" Yahiko said as he
nudged Yutaro with his foot.
Yutaro stumbled up to his feet as well. "Don't push your luck. As soon as I'm
properly trained again, I WILL beat you," The two students glared at eachother as
Kenshin and Kaoru left the dojo.
***
Kenshin and Kaoru walked out of the gate, dressed for the cold autumn weather.
Both were making an attempt to ignore the loud crashing sounds that were coming from
the dojo. Kenshin walked in extreme close proximity to Kaoru for both warmth and her
protection. The leaves were turning and some even began to fall and the wind had a
small chill to it.
As the couple walked through the streets of Tokyo, a familiar voice shouted out to
Kaoru again. "Kaoru! Kaoru, its me, Hiriko!" the familiar bustling voice said. Kaoru
and Kenshin turned to see Hiriko dragging a man they both assumed was her husband.
"Ah, Kaoru, this is my husband Shinya. Shinya, this is a childhood friend of mine and
her fiancee,"
"Good to meet you two" Shinya said with a slight bow. Kaoru was still stunned
that her childhood friend introduced herself and Kenshin as an engaged couple.
"Hiriko, Kenshin and I aren't," Kaoru began before Kenshin cut her off.
"We aren't telling anyone yet," Kenshin finished for Kaoru as he put his hand on
her shoulder. "We were hoping to keep it a secret until the spring," Kenshin answered.
Kaoru looked at him with a surprised look in her eyes and Kenshin returned the look with
one that basically said 'I'll explain later'.
"Oh, so you two are planning a ceremony in the early summer?" Hiriko asked in
an excited tone.
"Something like that, yeah," Kaoru answered after she decided that it was best to
go on with Kenshin's plan until she could talk to him in a calm collected way about this
'engagement'. "Well, we both have to get going. We're meeting a friend for dinner."
Kaoru exclaimed as she grabbed Kenshin's arm and started dragging him in the direction
to the Akabeko.
"Alright, Kaoru!" Hiriko shouted in return, dragging her husband off in the
opposite direction. "We should have dinner together sometime!" And with that,
Kaoru's gossiping childhood friend disappeared into town.
"Kenshin," Kaoru whispered harshly while trying not to draw attention to the two
of them, "can you explain to me why we are suddenly engaged?"
"Oro? You mean you didn't notice?" Kenshin answered, surprised. "Do you
only use your new sense in the dojo? Someone's spying on us from the rooftop. He's
pretty good. I could take him in half a minute. You would have difficulty against him
though. If he hears we're engaged, then checks who I am and hears from rumor that I'm
the Battousai, he might back off," Kaoru looked at Kenshin with a sour look on her face,
but didn't argue. Instead she stretched out with her mind.
"To the... left of us?" Kaoru asked. Kenshin smiled at Kaoru and nodded.
"Very good," Kenshin answered. "Pretty soon, you shouldn't need to
concentrate to use it." Kaoru shuddered slightly at the thought of that. Her mind open
to the emotions and intentions of those around her to the point of anticipating every
action was astounding, even frightening.
'But,' she thought, 'it's a price to pay for being a kenjutsu master and I'll pay it
gladly,'
***
"You are, by far, the worst teacher ever!" Yutaro yelled at Yahiko. Yahiko
sighed and slapped his head again.
"Its not my fault you can't do it!" Yahiko answered. "Look, I'll show you again,
SLOWLY," Yahiko said in a deliberatly condescending tone. "First you step inside your
opponent's reach and raise your blade into the armpit." Yahiko made the appropriate
gesture and held it. "Then, you shove up and forward to dislocate the arm," Yahiko
instructed as he finished the form. "This is the first of twenty forms of Kamiya Kasshin
Ryuu designed to disable an opponent's limb. It is also the easiest of the twenty. If you
can't do it, then you should give up," Yahiko taunted.
"The problem," Yutaro stated as he held his shinai in his left hand trying to
duplicate the form, "is that you aren't showing me the correct leverage." Yutaro slid his
hand closer to the handguard on the shinai and did the form again with more precision.
"Your hand is closer to the end of your shinai, which works because your right arm is
stronger than your left arm. I'm still working on mine, if you didn't forget," Yutaro
looked at Yahiko menacingly.
"Well, tough," Yahiko answered. "You either learn or you don't. Now do it
again 50 times, with the end of the hilt. You have to learn how to do a swing using the
hilt. Most of Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu's advanced techniques are hilt related, and you
better remember that," Yahiko said snidely. Although Yutaro showed amazing talent,
even with his non-dominant hand, it would take him a month or two to reach Yahiko's
current level.
Yutaro gave Yahiko a dirty look but complied. "Alright, but remember you
aren't my teacher, Kamiya-sensei is. I'm only listening to you because she told me to,"
"Well, you aren't good enough to say otherwise, are you?" Yahiko answered with
an evil grin on his face. That's when the dojo door bursted open and a strange man
walked in, dressed for battle in heavy coats designed for winter and a large straw hat. He
had a katana on his belt, but the hilt was just the tang of the katana with some light cloth
wrappings over it. Yahiko took immediate notice that the man still wore his shoes.
"Hey, don't' come in here wearing shoes! Don't you have any manners?" Yahiko
shouted at the rude guest.
"Where is the Kamiya woman?" the man asked gruffly as he ignored Yahiko's
protests.
"She's in town," Yutaro answered. He recognized this behavior immediately.
This man was a dojo destroyer, much like the one that robbed him of the use of his right
arm. "Come back tomorrow and she'll deal with you then," Yutaro said with extreme
caution.
"Too bad she'll come back to find her only students dead," the man said as he
drew his blade. The man's statement gave Yahiko and Yutaro enough time to back a
good distance away from the man. Yahiko immediately grabbed two bokkens from a
rack and tossed Yutaro one of them. Yutaro caught the bokken in his left hand and both
stood side by side, ready to combat this new foe.
***
Kenshin and Kaoru were walking home from a rather strange dinner at the
Akabeko. Apparently, word spread quickly and right when Kenshin and Kaoru got to
the Akabeko, the word of their engagement already reached Tae. Tae threw a small
celebration and gave them their meal on the house. Tae even went as far as to chat with
Kaoru for half an hour over ceremony details. Kaoru's face reached shades of red she
never knew were possible.
Kenshin, though, was glad that the rumor spread so quickly. It meant that
whoever that threatened Kaoru would most likely flee in terror. He knew he had to make
up for all the embarassment this false engagement was giving Kaoru, but he wasn't sure
what would make up for it yet. As the two of them neared the dojo, Kenshin's face
changed expression and he started running. Kaoru realized Kenshin sensed something
and she too ran. Kaoru concentrated and sensed that there was a battle going on from
inside the dojo.
Kenshin didn't bother to open the gate and leapt over the outer wall. Kaoru
stopped outside the gate for a moment. She took a deep breath, then tensed
her legs and leapt up. She only reached the height to grab the roof of the gate, but she
used her upward momentum to pull herself up and leap down on the other side of the
gate. Kaoru ran towards the dojo and prayed she wasn't too late.
***
Inside the dojo, both Yahiko and Yutaro had minor cuts and bruises from their
fight. The challenger's weapon was one of the strangest Yahiko ever saw. The first
three inches of the blade on the challenger's katana was dull, which made it seem like a
rather poor weapon, at least until the challenger unwrapped the tang of his katana and slid
it into the iron sheath. The new weapon had controllable range and the ability to switch
from cutting to blunt attack in a mere moment. The man's attack patterns were circular
and narrow. Yahiko didn't have the oppritunity to use the ougi yet, and doubted he
would have a chance. Downward strikes just didn't seem to be in the challenger's style.
Yutaro never was in a life or death fight before, so he followed Yahiko's lead.
They tried to attack from opposing sides and from high and low at once, but the
challenger's speed and strength was too great. Yutaro felt the blood drip down his nose
from the small cut he received and knew that the both of them couldn't last any longer.
That was when in a gust of wind the dojo's doors slammed open and the challenger was
knocked clean out of the dojo and into the yard. Yutaro looked up and saw Himura
Kenshin sheath his sword and look at himself and Yahiko.
"Are you two alright?" Kenshin asked. Kaoru stood near the door of the dojo as
she observed the attacker stand up from Kenshin's attack.
"Kenshin," Kaoru shouted, "its Akiro the Destroyer!" Yutaro and Yahiko
noticed the temperature in the dojo seemed to drop as Kenshin got up and walked slowly
out of the dojo.
"Ah, that Kamiya bitch did find a boyfriend afterall," Akiro said with an evil grin
as he spun his weapon around. "I trained for a year to kill you after you hulimiated me,
woman! I challenge you to a fight!" Kaoru held up her hand to stop Kenshin from
moving any further.
"Kenshin," Kaoru said, "he challenged me. I know you're worried, but please
don't be. I can take him," Kaoru finished with a smile towards Kenshin.
"Of course you can take him. I see your sense is getting better at determining
skill as well," Kenshin answered. "But, you are in a kimono, so your mobility will be
limited slightly. So, I shall give you an edge," Kenshin pulled the sheathed sakabato
from his belt and handed it to Kaoru.
Kaoru looked at Kenshin and asked, "Are you sure?" Kenshin smiled at her
reassuringly and she took the sword from his hands and held it to her side. Kaoru
walked out in the yard to face Akiro the Destroyer once again. "Akiro," Kaoru
announced, "this is your only chance to back down," The man laughed at Kaoru, so she
slowly unsheathed Kenshin's sakabato and pushed the sheath in her obi. Kaoru held the
sword in a conventional ready position and felt slightly overwhelmed by the weight of it.
Akiro the Destroyer didn't give Kaoru any extra time to ponder her weapon as he
swung from the side with his strange weapon. Kaoru leapt back and moved to circle
from the side to make use of the opening a large swing makes when Akiro finished the
swinging motion and jabbed the end of his iron sheath from behind his back. Kaoru saw
her chance to early on effect the outcome of the battle and grabbed the iron sheath with
her left hand and yanked hard. The sheath slid free from the katana's tang and Kaoru
threw it as far away as possible. Kaoru stepped back from Akiro's range again and
switched the sakabato to both hands again.
"So you have been getting better," Akiro said with an evil grin. "That makes my
revenge that much sweeter," Akiro feinted an attack but instead kicked a large amount
of dirt into Kaoru's face. Kaoru felt her eyes burn slightly and chose not to open up her
eyes to let the blurred images distract her. She sensed the attack from the left and leapt
out of range, then a strike from the low right and moved her head out of the way. "You
can't count on luck forever, so you might as well die now!" Akiro shouted in anger.
"What's the matter?" Kaoru taunted back, "Can't kill a woman dressed in a
kimono, so you had to blind her? And even then, you can't make a strike?"
"DIE BITCH!" Akiro shouted as he prepared from an overhead slice. Kaoru
sensed it coming and was ready for it.
"Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu Succession Technique!" Kaoru cried as she locked
Akiro's blade inbetween the back of her two hands, effectively locking his power. "Hi-
Watari!" Kaoru then unlocked the technique by using the sakabato's hilt as leverage and
Akiro's power to fling Akiro the Destroyer into the ground with a loud thud. Kaoru
sensed her opponent was unable to move any further for the night so she pulled the sheath
of the sakabato from her obi and returned the sakbato into its sheath. "Kenshin? Some
help here?" Kaoru shouted as she started to blink her eyes to get the dirt out. Kenshin
came back with a small bucket of water and helped Kaoru to clean out her eyes.
"So, what did you think?" Kenshin asked as he took back his sakabato. Kaoru
blinked her eyes a bit more as she splashed some water in her face.
"Oh, your sakabato feels really comfortable. I'm amazed at its balance," Kaoru
answered. Kenshin gave Kaoru a puzzled look then jestured towards Akiro the
Destroyer, who was being tied up by Yahiko and Yutaro.
"That's not what I meant," Kenshin answered with a smile. "I meant 'what did
you think when you passed the first test to mastery?'" Kaoru looked slightly shocked.
"Do you really think that could be considered passing the first test?" Kaoru asked.
"Its better," Kenshin answered. "In combat, factors change and you never face
the same enemy twice. Kaoru, I've been living with you for almost a year, so you are
familiar with my ken-ki. Believe it or not, this battle was a better test of your ken-ki
sense than trying to spar with me blindfolded."
Kaoru looked at Kenshin sceptically. "I somehow doubt that, even if I am
'familiar' with your ken-ki, a battle with you would be easier than a battle with Akiro.
But, if you think I passed the test, then I passed the test,"
***
That's Chapter 5! Comments/Suggestions? Oh, and people: Please do try to visit my
website at http://tanukitoryuu.anifics.com/ Also remember to try and chat with me on
AIM or ICQ. Oh, and please e-mail me too! Fans are what makes writing Fanfics
worth while!
Well here it is, Chapter 5! In a way it's a milestone. I'm proving I can get this fic out!
Don't ask me how many parts this fic will have. It will go on until I feel its done. Also,
anyone who wants to, PLEASE e-mail me or contact me by AIM or ICQ! Fan response
is greatly appreciated!
Chapter 5: The First Test of Succession
***
It was only three days since Kenshin started training her for her final tests and
Kaoru was amazed at her progress. She was amazed she never noticed the subtle flow of
ki through everyone and how much it could reveal. At the moment, she was standing in
the center of the dojo with a blindfold over her eyes and held her shinai out, ready for the
lesson Kenshin cooked up for her.
Kaoru swiftly held her shinai high and to the right, and successfully blocked one
strike, then pushed her opponent back and quickly blocked another strike low and to the
left. Kenshin said that today's lesson in ken-ki would be a surprise, but she didn't expect
a sparring partner. She felt someone try to strike her high and from behind and she spun
around and striked where she suspected the opponent to be and heard a loud grunt in pain
as her shinai made contact with her attacker. She then sensed someone else from her left
side and low also about to attack and rolled out of the way and responded with a jab in
what she hoped was the chest and heard another grunt of pain.
"Alright, Kaoru," Kenshin's voice said, "You can take off the blindfold." Kaoru
removed her blindfold and saw both Yahiko and Yutaro on the dojo floor, both laid there
with shinais grasped in their hands and both moaning in pain.
"I was fighting both of them? At once? Blindfolded?" Kaoru asked, shocked at
what she acomplished. She couldn't believe she made this much progress in that extra
sensory perception.
"Well, you ARE their master," Kenshin pointed out, "And its not like its
something you didn't know how to do. All swordsmen can subconsciously sense ken-ki,
its just you needed to fine-tune your sense a bit,"
Kaoru smiled at Kenshin and replied, "I guess you're right. So, I guess we can
head out to the Akabeko for dinner tonight?"
"Sounds like a good idea. What about those two?" Kenshin asked as he gestured
to Kaoru's two students as they tried to catch their breath.
"Yahiko! Try to teach Yutaro a few of the intermediate forms and try to get him
up to speed," Kaoru ordered. "And you two better not kill eachother!"
Yahiko stumbled on his feet and used his shinai as a crutch to support himself.
"Alright, Kaoru. Come on, cat-eyes, get up! I have to teach you!" Yahiko said as he
nudged Yutaro with his foot.
Yutaro stumbled up to his feet as well. "Don't push your luck. As soon as I'm
properly trained again, I WILL beat you," The two students glared at eachother as
Kenshin and Kaoru left the dojo.
***
Kenshin and Kaoru walked out of the gate, dressed for the cold autumn weather.
Both were making an attempt to ignore the loud crashing sounds that were coming from
the dojo. Kenshin walked in extreme close proximity to Kaoru for both warmth and her
protection. The leaves were turning and some even began to fall and the wind had a
small chill to it.
As the couple walked through the streets of Tokyo, a familiar voice shouted out to
Kaoru again. "Kaoru! Kaoru, its me, Hiriko!" the familiar bustling voice said. Kaoru
and Kenshin turned to see Hiriko dragging a man they both assumed was her husband.
"Ah, Kaoru, this is my husband Shinya. Shinya, this is a childhood friend of mine and
her fiancee,"
"Good to meet you two" Shinya said with a slight bow. Kaoru was still stunned
that her childhood friend introduced herself and Kenshin as an engaged couple.
"Hiriko, Kenshin and I aren't," Kaoru began before Kenshin cut her off.
"We aren't telling anyone yet," Kenshin finished for Kaoru as he put his hand on
her shoulder. "We were hoping to keep it a secret until the spring," Kenshin answered.
Kaoru looked at him with a surprised look in her eyes and Kenshin returned the look with
one that basically said 'I'll explain later'.
"Oh, so you two are planning a ceremony in the early summer?" Hiriko asked in
an excited tone.
"Something like that, yeah," Kaoru answered after she decided that it was best to
go on with Kenshin's plan until she could talk to him in a calm collected way about this
'engagement'. "Well, we both have to get going. We're meeting a friend for dinner."
Kaoru exclaimed as she grabbed Kenshin's arm and started dragging him in the direction
to the Akabeko.
"Alright, Kaoru!" Hiriko shouted in return, dragging her husband off in the
opposite direction. "We should have dinner together sometime!" And with that,
Kaoru's gossiping childhood friend disappeared into town.
"Kenshin," Kaoru whispered harshly while trying not to draw attention to the two
of them, "can you explain to me why we are suddenly engaged?"
"Oro? You mean you didn't notice?" Kenshin answered, surprised. "Do you
only use your new sense in the dojo? Someone's spying on us from the rooftop. He's
pretty good. I could take him in half a minute. You would have difficulty against him
though. If he hears we're engaged, then checks who I am and hears from rumor that I'm
the Battousai, he might back off," Kaoru looked at Kenshin with a sour look on her face,
but didn't argue. Instead she stretched out with her mind.
"To the... left of us?" Kaoru asked. Kenshin smiled at Kaoru and nodded.
"Very good," Kenshin answered. "Pretty soon, you shouldn't need to
concentrate to use it." Kaoru shuddered slightly at the thought of that. Her mind open
to the emotions and intentions of those around her to the point of anticipating every
action was astounding, even frightening.
'But,' she thought, 'it's a price to pay for being a kenjutsu master and I'll pay it
gladly,'
***
"You are, by far, the worst teacher ever!" Yutaro yelled at Yahiko. Yahiko
sighed and slapped his head again.
"Its not my fault you can't do it!" Yahiko answered. "Look, I'll show you again,
SLOWLY," Yahiko said in a deliberatly condescending tone. "First you step inside your
opponent's reach and raise your blade into the armpit." Yahiko made the appropriate
gesture and held it. "Then, you shove up and forward to dislocate the arm," Yahiko
instructed as he finished the form. "This is the first of twenty forms of Kamiya Kasshin
Ryuu designed to disable an opponent's limb. It is also the easiest of the twenty. If you
can't do it, then you should give up," Yahiko taunted.
"The problem," Yutaro stated as he held his shinai in his left hand trying to
duplicate the form, "is that you aren't showing me the correct leverage." Yutaro slid his
hand closer to the handguard on the shinai and did the form again with more precision.
"Your hand is closer to the end of your shinai, which works because your right arm is
stronger than your left arm. I'm still working on mine, if you didn't forget," Yutaro
looked at Yahiko menacingly.
"Well, tough," Yahiko answered. "You either learn or you don't. Now do it
again 50 times, with the end of the hilt. You have to learn how to do a swing using the
hilt. Most of Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu's advanced techniques are hilt related, and you
better remember that," Yahiko said snidely. Although Yutaro showed amazing talent,
even with his non-dominant hand, it would take him a month or two to reach Yahiko's
current level.
Yutaro gave Yahiko a dirty look but complied. "Alright, but remember you
aren't my teacher, Kamiya-sensei is. I'm only listening to you because she told me to,"
"Well, you aren't good enough to say otherwise, are you?" Yahiko answered with
an evil grin on his face. That's when the dojo door bursted open and a strange man
walked in, dressed for battle in heavy coats designed for winter and a large straw hat. He
had a katana on his belt, but the hilt was just the tang of the katana with some light cloth
wrappings over it. Yahiko took immediate notice that the man still wore his shoes.
"Hey, don't' come in here wearing shoes! Don't you have any manners?" Yahiko
shouted at the rude guest.
"Where is the Kamiya woman?" the man asked gruffly as he ignored Yahiko's
protests.
"She's in town," Yutaro answered. He recognized this behavior immediately.
This man was a dojo destroyer, much like the one that robbed him of the use of his right
arm. "Come back tomorrow and she'll deal with you then," Yutaro said with extreme
caution.
"Too bad she'll come back to find her only students dead," the man said as he
drew his blade. The man's statement gave Yahiko and Yutaro enough time to back a
good distance away from the man. Yahiko immediately grabbed two bokkens from a
rack and tossed Yutaro one of them. Yutaro caught the bokken in his left hand and both
stood side by side, ready to combat this new foe.
***
Kenshin and Kaoru were walking home from a rather strange dinner at the
Akabeko. Apparently, word spread quickly and right when Kenshin and Kaoru got to
the Akabeko, the word of their engagement already reached Tae. Tae threw a small
celebration and gave them their meal on the house. Tae even went as far as to chat with
Kaoru for half an hour over ceremony details. Kaoru's face reached shades of red she
never knew were possible.
Kenshin, though, was glad that the rumor spread so quickly. It meant that
whoever that threatened Kaoru would most likely flee in terror. He knew he had to make
up for all the embarassment this false engagement was giving Kaoru, but he wasn't sure
what would make up for it yet. As the two of them neared the dojo, Kenshin's face
changed expression and he started running. Kaoru realized Kenshin sensed something
and she too ran. Kaoru concentrated and sensed that there was a battle going on from
inside the dojo.
Kenshin didn't bother to open the gate and leapt over the outer wall. Kaoru
stopped outside the gate for a moment. She took a deep breath, then tensed
her legs and leapt up. She only reached the height to grab the roof of the gate, but she
used her upward momentum to pull herself up and leap down on the other side of the
gate. Kaoru ran towards the dojo and prayed she wasn't too late.
***
Inside the dojo, both Yahiko and Yutaro had minor cuts and bruises from their
fight. The challenger's weapon was one of the strangest Yahiko ever saw. The first
three inches of the blade on the challenger's katana was dull, which made it seem like a
rather poor weapon, at least until the challenger unwrapped the tang of his katana and slid
it into the iron sheath. The new weapon had controllable range and the ability to switch
from cutting to blunt attack in a mere moment. The man's attack patterns were circular
and narrow. Yahiko didn't have the oppritunity to use the ougi yet, and doubted he
would have a chance. Downward strikes just didn't seem to be in the challenger's style.
Yutaro never was in a life or death fight before, so he followed Yahiko's lead.
They tried to attack from opposing sides and from high and low at once, but the
challenger's speed and strength was too great. Yutaro felt the blood drip down his nose
from the small cut he received and knew that the both of them couldn't last any longer.
That was when in a gust of wind the dojo's doors slammed open and the challenger was
knocked clean out of the dojo and into the yard. Yutaro looked up and saw Himura
Kenshin sheath his sword and look at himself and Yahiko.
"Are you two alright?" Kenshin asked. Kaoru stood near the door of the dojo as
she observed the attacker stand up from Kenshin's attack.
"Kenshin," Kaoru shouted, "its Akiro the Destroyer!" Yutaro and Yahiko
noticed the temperature in the dojo seemed to drop as Kenshin got up and walked slowly
out of the dojo.
"Ah, that Kamiya bitch did find a boyfriend afterall," Akiro said with an evil grin
as he spun his weapon around. "I trained for a year to kill you after you hulimiated me,
woman! I challenge you to a fight!" Kaoru held up her hand to stop Kenshin from
moving any further.
"Kenshin," Kaoru said, "he challenged me. I know you're worried, but please
don't be. I can take him," Kaoru finished with a smile towards Kenshin.
"Of course you can take him. I see your sense is getting better at determining
skill as well," Kenshin answered. "But, you are in a kimono, so your mobility will be
limited slightly. So, I shall give you an edge," Kenshin pulled the sheathed sakabato
from his belt and handed it to Kaoru.
Kaoru looked at Kenshin and asked, "Are you sure?" Kenshin smiled at her
reassuringly and she took the sword from his hands and held it to her side. Kaoru
walked out in the yard to face Akiro the Destroyer once again. "Akiro," Kaoru
announced, "this is your only chance to back down," The man laughed at Kaoru, so she
slowly unsheathed Kenshin's sakabato and pushed the sheath in her obi. Kaoru held the
sword in a conventional ready position and felt slightly overwhelmed by the weight of it.
Akiro the Destroyer didn't give Kaoru any extra time to ponder her weapon as he
swung from the side with his strange weapon. Kaoru leapt back and moved to circle
from the side to make use of the opening a large swing makes when Akiro finished the
swinging motion and jabbed the end of his iron sheath from behind his back. Kaoru saw
her chance to early on effect the outcome of the battle and grabbed the iron sheath with
her left hand and yanked hard. The sheath slid free from the katana's tang and Kaoru
threw it as far away as possible. Kaoru stepped back from Akiro's range again and
switched the sakabato to both hands again.
"So you have been getting better," Akiro said with an evil grin. "That makes my
revenge that much sweeter," Akiro feinted an attack but instead kicked a large amount
of dirt into Kaoru's face. Kaoru felt her eyes burn slightly and chose not to open up her
eyes to let the blurred images distract her. She sensed the attack from the left and leapt
out of range, then a strike from the low right and moved her head out of the way. "You
can't count on luck forever, so you might as well die now!" Akiro shouted in anger.
"What's the matter?" Kaoru taunted back, "Can't kill a woman dressed in a
kimono, so you had to blind her? And even then, you can't make a strike?"
"DIE BITCH!" Akiro shouted as he prepared from an overhead slice. Kaoru
sensed it coming and was ready for it.
"Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu Succession Technique!" Kaoru cried as she locked
Akiro's blade inbetween the back of her two hands, effectively locking his power. "Hi-
Watari!" Kaoru then unlocked the technique by using the sakabato's hilt as leverage and
Akiro's power to fling Akiro the Destroyer into the ground with a loud thud. Kaoru
sensed her opponent was unable to move any further for the night so she pulled the sheath
of the sakabato from her obi and returned the sakbato into its sheath. "Kenshin? Some
help here?" Kaoru shouted as she started to blink her eyes to get the dirt out. Kenshin
came back with a small bucket of water and helped Kaoru to clean out her eyes.
"So, what did you think?" Kenshin asked as he took back his sakabato. Kaoru
blinked her eyes a bit more as she splashed some water in her face.
"Oh, your sakabato feels really comfortable. I'm amazed at its balance," Kaoru
answered. Kenshin gave Kaoru a puzzled look then jestured towards Akiro the
Destroyer, who was being tied up by Yahiko and Yutaro.
"That's not what I meant," Kenshin answered with a smile. "I meant 'what did
you think when you passed the first test to mastery?'" Kaoru looked slightly shocked.
"Do you really think that could be considered passing the first test?" Kaoru asked.
"Its better," Kenshin answered. "In combat, factors change and you never face
the same enemy twice. Kaoru, I've been living with you for almost a year, so you are
familiar with my ken-ki. Believe it or not, this battle was a better test of your ken-ki
sense than trying to spar with me blindfolded."
Kaoru looked at Kenshin sceptically. "I somehow doubt that, even if I am
'familiar' with your ken-ki, a battle with you would be easier than a battle with Akiro.
But, if you think I passed the test, then I passed the test,"
***
That's Chapter 5! Comments/Suggestions? Oh, and people: Please do try to visit my
website at http://tanukitoryuu.anifics.com/ Also remember to try and chat with me on
AIM or ICQ. Oh, and please e-mail me too! Fans are what makes writing Fanfics
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