Hitokiri, Okami, and Meokami

By Daimyo Shi [e-mail author here.]

Disclaimer: All rights and privileges to Rurouni Kenshin belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shuiesha, Sony Music Entertainment, and associated parties. The characters of this series are used without his permission for the purpose of entertainment only. This work of fiction is not meant for sale or profit.
This is my first attempt at the art of fanfiction. Please be gentle. Comments are greatly appreciated!!!



Chapter Four: The Wolf looking for love.

"I am going for a walk and you can't stop me!" she snapped at me

"I don't want to stop you, I am here to protect you." I was amazed my the changed in Minko, she normally was such a meek and polite girl, but a points tonight she acted like a cornered wolf. I smiled as I walked behind her, I wonder if she was born in June. We walked down the streets of Kyoto. It was later than I though nearly every house was dark. The full moon was casting a silver light across Kyoto tonight. I briefly was concerned about meeting the Shinsengumi out this late at night. I managed to chase away my worries by watching Minko walk. We had walked for a hour without a word between us.

"Shiba-sama?" Minko asked "was I wrong to be mad at Taka?"

"I don't know, I am a bad person to ask I have quite the nasty temper."

"really I never seen you mad before. You are almost as controlled as Himura-sama."

"I am not as controlled as Himura-sensei, I sure he would have found a way to resolve things with Taka without threatening to kill him."

"I guess we can go back to the inn now I think I have cooled off enough." sais Minko

"Alright then." I said, it was such a peaceful night I almost wished we could walk a little more.

"Why did you come with me? surely you are tired from you day." asked Minko.

"I am charged to protect the innocent and the weak. And I rather not see harm come to the woman defending my honour from being tarnish by the statements of one man." I said much more cheerfully. She must have some kind of feelings for me, I thought. I could see Minko blush in the lantern's light.

"Really Shiba-sama? . . . I wish people would stop treating me like a little girl, after all I turned fourteen last week."

"I sorry I missed it, happy birthday, Togashi-san." I had called her by the name of the inn I knew she didn't have a last name. Last week was June 12 - 19, she was a Gemini. I quietly chuckled to myself a bit. We continued our walk towards the Inn. I stopped for a moment, something was not right, "Minko-chan come here!"

"What is wrong?" she said as she came towards me.

"Just come here, quickly." I whispered to Minko my left hand clicked my Katana out of its saya. Minko moved closer to me, as three men came in to the lantern light. They were dressed in Brown kimonos and matching hakama. I could smell the one closest to me, he hadn't bathed in at least a week.

"Look, we only want the girl, ronin, you can just leave. We don't need to kill you." said the one in the middle, who had a katana in his obi. The smelly one was armed with twin sai, and the one furthest from me had twin kama

"And I if I say No?" I said with an smirk that could only described as evil. I imagined my eyes turning amber.

"Then you die and we still get want we want!" said the smelly one. All three of them laughed.

"Aku Soku Zan." As I charged the smelly one, my katana came free slashing through the smelly one's laughing belly, shock found the way to his face as he hit the ground, quite dead. I allowed myself a smile at his suffering, I am sure this isn't the first time they done this. The other two had drawn there weapons and were ready for me. "Ready to die?" I asked

"Come." said the man with katana.

I charged him, we met face to face with our strikes. I feel pain in my left shoulder as I realise my wound has reopened.

"Look out!" screamed Minko. The guy with the Kama was charging in, I managed to break free of the katana lock between me and the other man, can change the facing letting my katana follow through on my left hand. The Kama man had his kama in the air for a duel over hand strike couldn't parry my attack, so my Katana bites into his neck cutting deep enough that his throat is spirting blood his kama drop as he grasps his throat trying to stem the bleeding. He thrashed on the ground for a couple more moments, but the Katana man charges me, I parry his attack but the strength behind it is remarkable. His technique is weak though. I gave way to his strength sending him tumbling forward as I draw my wakazashi and stab towards his ribs. I connect but the wound is hardly deep. I became concerned, I would now have to parry his attack with only one arm behind it. I began to consider my options as he re-readied himself. He charge at me with an over hand slash, I jumped at the last minute over him slashing his right shoulder, I made a small wound I landed facing what I though would be his back and trusted hard, he managed to turn around to face me but was not ready for attack, my katana pierced him just left of centre of his chest. I withdrew my Katana and he fell forward his Katana clatter along the road. I felt if someone was watching.

"Shiba!" Minko ran had be and hugged me.

"Oro?" I tried to keep my blades from touching Minko as she hugged me.

"Oh, Shiba are you alright?" Minko was crying in my arms "Shiba, I not worth such risks you should have just left me."

"Of course you are worth such risks." I let her continue to hug me for a bit long before I asked "Minko I really should sheath my katana and Wakazashi."

"Of course." she blushed as she move away, the dying light of the lantern which had fallen when Minko had hugged me. With two inhumanly fast arcs, I flicked my katana and wakazashi free of blood. Confidant I had gotten all the blood off I sheathed my katana and Wakazashi with one smooth motion.

"You killed them to protect me." exclaimed Minko.

"I sorry you had to watch me kill them. I am sorry I stolen some of you innocence." I replied.

"Shiba . . . I don't know what they wanted, but I am sure that watching you kill them harms my innocent that what they planned." said Minko with he eyes downcast. She looked up at me and said "let's go home."

"Oro? Ok." I said Kind of shocked in the moment, not because I had killed them but because Minko had to watch, Had she ever saw a man die before?

We travelled the rest of the distance to the Inn it was all dark except a lantern at the main door. Tsuko was waiting for us. "It took you long enough!" she looked tired "Shiba-sama you hurt!"

"It ok Tsuko-chan, it just my old wound has reopened."

"Shiba-sama saved me there were these three men, who wanted me but Shiba-sama killed them to protect me.." said Minko with an hint of pride.

"Really? Shiba we have to re-bandaged that wounds." Tsuko sounded a little bitter.

"Hai." I replied

Tsuko leads me to the same room that hours before she had taken me to bandaged that wound. Tsuko cleans the wound as Minko dresses my wound. I lose even more of my kimono to Minko's scissors.

"There you are Shiba-sama." Chimed the two women together.

"Thank you." I said to both of them. I leave to return to my room. I find myself in front of my door as Minko turns the corner.

"Shiba-sama?"

I stop and turn to face her. I wonder if she can see my smile in the dark as I turn to face her.

"Shiba-sama, I never thanked you for saving my life."

"There is no need to thank me. I was there to protect you."

"Shiba-sama?" She shuffles closer with her head down cast

"Hai?"

"I ..." she reaches up looking me in the face and pulls me towards her and kisses me. I don't resist and put my arms around her pulling her closer. Time seems to have no meaning in our warm embrace. I half expect the rising sun to interrupt us. All of the sudden she looks go and pulls out of our embrace. Despite the darkness I can almost see her blush.

"Shiba-sama . . . I . . ."

"It is alright." I say softly "I won't tell anyone, and I don't mind."

"I am just a peasant girl, It is not possible for you . . I am sorry, I didn't mean to be so forward. A samurai can't love a peasant girl."

I pull her close and stroke her hair from in front of her face. "Really? Than why do I fight the Ishin shishi to topple the Bakufu. I turned my back on the tradition that removes samurai from the rest of the people of Japan. Now do you think that I would care about some rule about samurai not marrying peasant girls. I course that would have mean that a peasant girl had just kissed me, not the beautiful princess that just did moments ago, Minko-hime?" I smile broadly.

"Really? Shiba . . . Kenshin I . . ." Minko steels herself for a moment. "I love you."

While I suspected that Minko had some kind of feeling for me after she hit Taka, I can't possible deal with what she just said. I feel like I was hit with a ton of bricks, and yet I feel so good too. Part of me wants to wake the entire Inn and then Kyoto screaming that Minko loves me. I must have completely drifted away to dreamland.

"Kenshin?" said Minko

"Oro?" I shake my head, snapping my head out of dream land.

"Do you love me, Kenshin?"

"Yes of course I do." I said broad smile on my face.

"I am so glad you love me, I was really hoping you did." she hugs me hard again. We stand there for a couple more minutes enjoying each others warm embrace. She let go.

"I have to make breakfast tomorrow, good night Kenshin-chan." Minko skips away down the hall.

I enter my room. The though that Minko loves me dances in my head. Hearing those three little words was so much better that anything else I had ever heard or did. I sighed, I told her I loved her, I didn't though, well at least not yet, I mean I found her attractive, cute really. But I couldn't let it go. I could learn to love her. I fumbled for a candle, I wasn't tired yet. I pulled out the writing desk towards me. I took out a brush, ink stick, ink stone and small flask of water. It dripped water on to the ink stone and then ground the ink stick against the stone until I had enough water for the ink, the applying it to the brush I began to write. I finished the poem for Minko is record time. I hadn't even thought about it. It just came to me. My calligraphy was so much better than it normally is. It is then I recognise what I had wrote, it was a sonnet in Japanese. She never understand how this works or recognise this as poetry. I sigh and put away everything leaving the sonnet on the desk.

Our kiss and embrace weaves through my mind. I remember on how long I wanted to here those words. Here I was in Japan and land where arranged marriages are the norm and wife are more like property rather than partners. I drew my Katana and look at myself in the polish reflection in the blade. I am a young Japanese man, I can't look more than seventeen years old. I smile Himura-sensei is about fifteen. I look a little like his older brother. Actually the similarity is quite striking, well other than his red hair. I still couldn't fathom his red hair. I try and comfort myself with the fact Minko and I don't look like such a mismatch, she only few years younger. Minko is a cute girl that will become a beautiful woman. Her switch between Shy and reserved and demanding and out going is quite refreshing. I prepare for bed, sleep quickly claims me. I awaken to sun peeking through the shutters. It is much later than I normally get up. I rush through a bath and changing clothes. Almost no one is around though. I nod to Tsuko as I pass her on her way to clean rooms. I seem to have no tasks to do today. In fact the only other Ishin shishi member around is Taka.

"Good morning taka-san how are you today?"

"I am fine, about last night, I am sorry. I overreacted, it Just I never been hit by a woman. I couldn't before last night even imagined a woman getting so mad she hit me. . . and it doesn't pay to have one of the best swordsmen in the Ishin shishi mad at me." said a very quiet and polite Taka

"thank you Apology accepted, I take it my technique doesn't suck anymore." I smiled at my last comment, Himura's teach had developed my skills in Kenjutsu, but some of it was talent too.

"Yes, few can match your speed and ability, being trained by Himura-sama has made a great Kenjutsu master out of you." said a polite Taka.

"Well Taka-san since I have been left to my own charge today I think that I am going to by a new kimono." I said looking at the fact my current one had a whole sleeve missing from last night duels.

"Well I hope you find one." said Taka.