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 five: The Wolf, A friend, and Miburo

I walked into the sunshine of a beautiful late morning in Kyoto, the kind of morning that makes you for get that Kyoto is awash in blood nearly every night. I walk towards the trade district. After a little looking I find a Kimono shop that I enter. No one seems to be about out front, but there is long mirror here so I take the time to look at myself in it. In this full length mirror, remark on the similarity between Himura-sensei and I. I am little, well maybe a lot taller, and my hair is black. My chin is not quite so sharp. I old man walks in from the back.

"I am so sorry have you been waiting long, samurai-sama?" said the man bowing low to me.

"No." I smiled "would you have a navy blue kimono in my size?"

"Yes of course you size is common enough."

"Great would you also have a formal black Kimono and hakama?"

"Yes of course." the old man walks in the back and presents me with my new clothing, I pay him and leave. I begin to wander the trade districts streets seeing the women buying for the needs of their families, and an old man buying his grandson a toy. I wonder what I should get Minko, I should get something, I chuckle what to you give a woman that told you she loves you. I begin to pay more attention to what is being sold in the stores. Then I see a fan with beautifully carves end pieces that are carved to look like cranes. Despite my haggling I still pay too much for it. I begin to maze around to get back to the Inn.

In the alley I am cutting through, I see a puddle of drying blood on the ground. My hand on my Katana I turn the corner carefully avoiding the blood. I see only a body with a deep chest wound caused by a thrust. As I look closer I notice two things, the first is that this is this is Miromoto, the man that spared me last night. And that the wound is a Gatotsu thrust wound from stance one. He still in his Shinsengumi clothes and his Katana hasn't even been drawn, indicating that who ever killed him took him by surprise. I begin to look carefully around. I see that someone had charged him much like at Gatotsu stance one given the foot prints in the dirt. It looked like Miromoto was either turning around because someone called him or that had heard his attacker. Since I could get them without touching Miromoto at took his Daisho and tucked them into my obi. I began to look for a mortician, it took me nearly a hour to find one and he went and picked up Miromoto's body. It took us another hour to find where he lived. I told the mortician to wait outside. I entered the walled compound that was Miromoto's home, a middle aged woman dressed in a very plain brown kimono, was doing the wash, she came up to me and bowed. "Can I help you?"

"I need to speak with Miromoto-sama." I said

"One moment." she went inside and a middle age woman slightly older came out in a blue Kimono with a crane pattern done in white. "Yes samurai-sama? What can I do for ... that my Son's Daisho. HOW DID YOU GET IT!"

"I am sorry to have to tell you your son is dead. In fact I am here to return these to his family." I said sombrely.

"What . . .Why? . . . How?" stammered the woman tears forming in here eyes.

"I sorry to say but he was murdered." I had hoped to put it better but I couldn't seem to.

"My . . . Son . . . Gone? . . .why? *sob* Why Me? *sob* Why this Family?." she began to cry. "It must have been that Battousai."

"I don't think so I seen the wounds of Battousai's attacks and they don't match Miromoto's wounds. Also Battousai allows his foes to draw there weapons, your son was caught by surprise and wasn't allowed to draw his katana." During my explanation of what I though of Miromoto's death, a samurai about my height dressed in the colours of the Shinsengumi. I recognized him from the duel between Kenshin and him, it was Saitou Hajime.

"Saitou-sama, I have lost my only son, this family's heir to this stupid war of the Shinsengumi. Go leave this house and never darken these ground with your presents or let any other member of the Shinsengumi ever come here again!" she half yelled and half sobbed. I tensed at the sight of Saitou, he recognized me as quickly as I had recognized him. I was tempted to draw my katana, but I reckoned he not strike me down here at the home of one of the Shinsengumi.

"As you wish Miromoto-sama, you have my and the Shinsengumi's condolences in this time of sorrow." Saitou bowed low to Miromoto's mother, quite deeper than I though he would. "Yahiko was a valued member of the Shinsengumi's third Guard group." Saitou walked off through the gate of Miromoto's home.

"Can I have his Daisho now?" asked his mother with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Hai, of course." I hand them to her, she inhaled sharply when I hand them to her.

"Karou! Come here!" she yelled through her tears. The same middle age woman in the brown Kimono came out and took the Daisho from Miromoto's mother.

"I thank you for returning my Son's Daisho, how can I repay you?"

"There is no need to repay me, I only trying to repay the debt I owed Miromoto."

"A debt, Samurai-sama, what kind of debt?" she asked.

"Last night he saved my life. Your son's body is outside. I must leave now." I said turning around to leave "I have a killer to find."

"Can I know your name Samurai-sama?"

"Shiba, Shiba Kenshin." As I walked through the main gates. I followed along the west wall of the compound and as I came to the end of it I said "hello, Saitou-sama."

Saitou turned from around the corner "Hello Battousai-no-seito, you seem pretty calm for a Ishin shishi member that knew I was around the corner." Saitou smirked as he talked to me.

"Well I believe you rather have answers for questions than my death." I said coldl "but you can have which ever you want."

"Well you are right, I will begin with why would an Ishin shishi member care about returning the Daisho of Shinsengumi member?" there was a slight bit of a mocking tone in Saitou's voice.

"Because last night he saved my life." I said

"oh how did he do that?" asked Saitou.

"He disarmed me but the recognized that I was the samurai that spared him four months ago in a battle that involved me and Shinsengumi where I broke his katana."

"I heard of that battle, Battousai let you spare him, something I had found unusual." said Saitou.

"You don't know my Sensei, like I do Saitou. Please don't try and patronizing me like you do know him." I growled at Saitou "Miromoto spared me because it would have tarnished his honour to do otherwise."

"You talk as if I would not understand." replied Saitou in a mocking tone.

"I don't know what to expect from the Third Guard Group Captain of the Shinsengumi, I don't know him."

"I may not have supported what Miromoto did, and some would not understand why he did it. But if that was why Miromoto let you go, I could hardly fault him for following bushido. How did he die since you didn't kill him?" asked Saitou

"I am not sure when it happened, off hand I say he was killed late last night or early this morning. He was killed by a katana, Saitou-sama a special technique, the Gatotsu thrust from the first stance."

Saitou's face shatter for a moment, either from the fact I knew the technique or because one of his own had killed Miromoto. "I see, well that is very interesting. This information is worth you life." said Saitou.

"Saitou-sama, there is one thing, there is akuma after the man that killed Miromoto. Don't get in his way." I said as walked in the other direction from Saitou. It had been weird talking to Saitou. We were enemies. I wondered if we would always be enemies? Aku Soku Zan that in a way linked the Hitokiri and the Shinsengumi. I also wonder if he had watched me last night as I killed those ronin. With a sense of irony I had said Aku Soku Zan. I began to walk towards the Inn that now was very far away. I cut through the market again and saw Hiniroki Kanta, one of the Ishin shishi merchant Suppliers. "Hello Kanta-san, how are you?" I asked

"Shiba-san, I am fine can I interest you in some thing?"

"What are you selling today?"

Tea pots and sets and a couple kitchen knives." said Kanta

Kitchen knives was his code for weapons. All of the sudden I remembered Minko slapping Taka, and then a vision of Minko learning kenjutsu. The idea danced in my mind, it amused me greatly.

"I could use a small kitchen knife, Kanta." A kodachi would work perfectly. I wonder what Himura sensei would think. Kanta looked at me funny before leading me in to his back room. He showed me a couple kodachi that were among the Daisho sets and other weapons. He even had two no-daichi. I though it had to be beautiful and functional.

"Why a kodachi, would not a Katana work better?" asked Kanta

"I want a kodachi for a very special purpose, it need to be easy to conceal, and have you ever tried to conceal a Katana." I replied

"No, I haven't."

I picked up the finest Kodachi with a Sakura shaped Tsubu and a red saya.

"I take this one."

"Hai, Shiba-san. I will wrap it up so it doesn't look so obvious."

"Thank you Kanta-san." he gave me a finely wrapped package. I gave him most of the money that I had left, it wasn't enough to pay for the kodachi, but it was more of a bribe anyway.

"There is no need Shiba-san."

"This is personal, Kanta-san."

"I see, well good luck." said Kanta

I left his shop with the wrapped kodachi under my arm and began my journey to the inn. I better not buy anything else I don't have room to carry it home. Kanta probably though that I was going to use the kodachi to kill a personal enemy of mine. The kodachi would not be easily traced to the Ishin shishi. The Fact that I was going to give it to a woman probably would strike him dumb. Part of my mind in the back of my head questioned why I cared about Miromoto's death so much. I had done what I had could for his soul, far more than he could have ever expected. There was a difference between when I spared him that four months ago and him sparing me last night. The fact that he was killed in what had to be a Gatotsu only reenforced that he had been killed directly as a result of his sparing me. Saitou had seemed shocked of a second about Miromoto's death at the hands of a Shinsengumi member. It would seem that despite Miromoto sparing me, Saitou was not necessary willing to discipline Miromoto, certainly not willing to kill him. The fact that someone else had decided to kill Miromoto without the consent of the Shinsengumi concerned him. I made my way to the Inn. I arrived at the inn, Himura was waiting for me.

"Shiba-san, I am going to Osaka for a few days. Please take care Shiba-san."

"I will Sensei." I bowed low to Himura "Please come back in one piece, sensei."

"I will." Himura bowed back to me, smiled and left the inn.

"Good afternoon Shiba-sama." said Minko from behind me as I watched Himura leave.

"Hello Minko-chan how is my Meokami today?" I said with a nearly mocking smile.

"Meokami? What? Shiba-sama you are teasing me." Replied Minko as she blushed. Her shy facade amused me greatly, while she acted like she didn't understand what I meant.

"Kenshin, please."

"Kenshin -kun why are you teasing me?"

I ignored her question. "Minko, I have something for you." I smiled as my mind quickly decided which gift to give to her first.

"Come to my room Minko-chan." She followed close behind me. She giggled like she couldn't contain herself. I was almost beside myself, I couldn't believe I could create such a response in a woman. I felt a warm rush through my body. I hoped she would at least like the fan. I entered the room. I remembered that my desk still had that Japanese sonnet on it. I sat down in my room far enough from the door so that Minko could come in and sit down. She came in and close the door.

"Yes, want did you have for me shi . . .Kenshin-kun?"

"Well I know I missed you birthday, for that I am sorry, but I though there was no reason for me not to give you a birthday gift even if it is a little late." I pulled the fan from my kimono's sleeve and handed it to her. She look at it in wonder, she flicked it open with one hand, which strangely remind me of flicking blood from my katana. She stared at it for a minute.

"Oh Kenshin-kun it is. . . so beautiful, I don't deserve this." Minko blushed. I could help but think how much more beautiful when she was blushing.

"Nonsense it not even half as beautiful as you, it is a shame that in all of Kyoto this was best fan I could find, and yet compared with your beauty it looks like a mountain rock." I was pleased that she liked the fan.

"Now in the west, people born in the sixth month are suppose to have two personalities. So I got some thing for meokami, your other personality."

"My other Personality?" said Minko meekly.

"Yes, Minko, that personality that challenges society, the Minko that slapped Taka."

I chuckle at Minko's bewilderment. She really is a different person when she is mad.

"You like that? It is so rude and embarrassing. I get so mad sometimes I just want to lash out. But I don't often. I can't believe you like it?"

"I love you, that means I love all of you. Don't you love all of me?" I noticed it came out a little easier today.

"Of course I do! But that different you never rude."

"Minko, I kill men, not one or two but nearly thirty. I will be called upon to kill more. Can you love a man that kills people? How is that different? is killing some one rude?"

"But you a have purpose, I just get angry..."

"Minko, if we love each other that fine, if I can kill and still be loved, then you can get angry and be rude."

"Ok."

I handed her next gift, not sure if it would go over well now, would she think I was telling her to kill? I shook me head a bit, no she wouldn't think that. She took the gift from my hand and began to unwrap it very carefully. Her eyes open wide when she sees the Kodachi. She carefully takes the kodachi from the wrapping paper. She sucks a sharp breath in and holds it in. She carefully unsheathes the Kodachi running the spine of the kodachi along the back of the saya. She clears it from the saya and looks first on the one side of the blade where there is a finely carved Dragon and the other has a Sakura neat the hilt. She carefully re-sheaths the kodachi and exhales.

"It is exquisite Kenshin-kun."

"My beautiful peasant girl can really knows how to handle a blade." I tease Minko of her excellent handling of her Kodachi.

"My father was a blacksmith, but he always wanted to be a Katana smith. A samurai wanted new horseshoes for his horse. My dad asked to see his Katana as his price for the horseshoes. I watch the samurai carefully unsheathes his Katana and show my father, he also told my father how a katana was made. Before his death, My father made one katana. I still have it, it is the one reminder of my father." I see the tears form in Minko's eyes she began to sob. I moved closer to her and put my arm around her, she leaned on my shoulder. I moved a bit more and hugged her.

"I am sorry." I said

"It is alright Kenshin-kun you didn't know." she forced a smile.

"Minko-chan, I . . ." I leaned in and kissed her, her arms went around me and pulled me close to her. For a couple of moments we kissed like that until the moment was shattered by "Shiba-san, I need to talk to you."

"What!" growled Minko and I, as I opened the door. There was Shinata-sama blushing. I could feel my face flush and I saw Minko's turn red too.

"Shiba-san . . .sama, I had no idea?" stammered Shinata.

"Excuse me, I am sorry." Minko got up out of my embrace, then bowed to me, taking her gifts with her.

"Minko . . .I . . ." she left with out acknowledging me. I turn towards suppressing the growl in my throat. Shinata bows very low to me "I am very sorry to have disturbed you, please forgive me."

"Of course." I have to choke back a chuckle at the sight of Shinata was bowing low and apologizing to me. Not sure on how to proceed I calmly ask"what do you need from me, Shinata-sama?"

"Yes, The Shinsengumi, it is believed have found one of our safe houses near the entertainment district. We suspect they will raid it tonight. We would like to ambush them and cause them some damage for the causalities they have inflicted on us. We think that they won't send a large unit because the house is so small. they think that they can get information on the other safe houses. We were wondering if you would lead the group to ambush the Shinsengumi."

"Hai." I said without a moments hesitation.

"Good you meet your group her after dark."

"Hai, Shinata-sama."

Shinata left me in my room. I look over at the sonnet I had written for Minko. I sat back down and pulled thee desk back towards me preparing the ink again. I sit and write quickly, three Haiku and a waku to go with the sonnet I have. Satisfied with them I take them and begin looking for Minko. I wander around the inn looking for Minko, I ran in to Tsuko.

"Tsuko-chan have you seen Minko?" I asked

"I saw her go to her room Shiba-sama."

"Thank you, Tsuko-chan." I ran to Minko's room

"Shiba-sama I don't think she wanted to be disturbed."

I ignore Tsuko, hoping she just think I didn't hear her. I reach Minko's room and knock on the frame of her door. "Minko-hime?"

"Shiba . . .I . . . come in." said a sad sounding Minko.

"What wrong?" I ask as I open the door come in and close the door. Minko was sitting cross legged in her Kimono, looking down at the ground.

"That twice I have acted out of my place. Shinata-sama is a well respected member of the Ishin shishi, and I yelled at him."

"Don't worry about it Minko-hime he didn't hear your voice only mine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes of course, I know Shinata-sama." I wasn't as sure as I sounded but based on his reaction he wasn't exactly mad at me or Minko.

"What did he want anyway?"

"He wants me to lead an ambush against the Shinsengumi." the statement came out like I was going to paint a fence.

"Kenshin that sounds dangerous, are you sure you can handle it?" she asked with deep concern in her voice.

"Of course I can, I will be carefully, Minko-hime. I have something else for you." I handed the poems to her. She took the poems and read them.

"These are very beautiful, Kenshin-kun. How do you do it?"

"I am a samurai, war is not my only talent. I glad you like them."

"When are you leaving then?"

"Tonight after dark."

" I will cook you dinner then. What would you like?"

"Kake Soba, Minko and sake."

"Soba? That so plain, Don't you think I can cook something more complex?" she looked hurt.

"No, It just I like Soba, that all! Anything cooked by you is wonderful. You are a great cook!" I back tracked.

"Oh, ok then I cook you Soba then." Minko smiled "I never imagine that a Samurai would eat something as simple as Soba."

"Yes, well not all samurai are the same. It not every day that a samurai meets a hime, that will cook for him."

"Well I have to start on dinner then Kenshin-chan." she came up to me and kissed me. "I don't think we have Soba ready right now so I have to make it. You go and get ready for tonight, I get you meal ready."