Apprentice
Chapter Six
Good-bye Kenshin; Hello, Trouble
Despite his promise (threat?) to his Shishou, Kenshin was not "bawling like a baby" when he said good-bye to his son a few days later. In fact, as he made his way back down the mountainside, the foremost emotion he felt was relief.
Kenshin often wondered what demons of the mind possessed his son at times. He could be almost girlishly sweet at one moment, and in the next, he could cause more trouble and destruction than ten ruffians on a drunken spree.
After the previous night's events, Kenshin was more convinced than ever that three months with Shishou Hiko was the perfect discipline for his mercurial and hard-headed son.
He still couldn't believe what his son had managed to do in one single night's mischief.
Kenshin had awakened in the middle of the night, sensing that something was missing. The something was of course, Kenji.
He jumped up, "Where the hell is that boy now?!" thought Kenshin, hastily pulling on his clothes and sandals. He moved quietly so as not to wake Hiko.
Fat chance.
"What are you doing prowling around in the middle of the night, Baka deshi," muttered Hiko, suddenly appearing in the doorway, still in his sleeping robe.
"Kenji's gone, Shishou, and Kami only knows what he's up to this time," replied Kenshin tersely.
"Hmpf," snorted Hiko, turning back into his room to quickly dress "he'll get a personal tour of all nine hells when I find the little idiot."
Kenji had been restless all evening and after he heard his father's breathing become even in sleep, he'd left the cabin with a display of stealth that would have done credit to Aoshi himself.
Actually, he was still somewhat angry and upset that his father was leaving him for the next three months, although he did not admit it to himself. He only knew that he was somehow vaguely angry with his father and also Hiko, for being party to his "abandonment".
He'd come up with a plan to force his father's hand. If things went as planned, he'd be back home in Tokyo with his mother in a matter of days.
The airy shed in which Hiko kept his pottery was the focal point of Kenji's plan . He figured all he had to do was "accidently" cause a little minor damage and Shishou Hiko would no doubt throw him and his father halfway down the mountainside the next morning.
Then he could go home to life as usual at the dojo, and not have to spend the next three months bereft of his beloved Ka-chan, and having to live with one of the few people he'd encountered in his brief life that he didn't seem to be able to fool.
Kenji knew that within the shed, there were works of Hiko's self-proclaimed genius in various states of progress and he'd been forbidden to go in or touch anything unless the Master himself was with him.
Since forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest, Kenji decided right there and then that his plan would involve Hiko's pottery shed.
The slight risk involved only added incentive to Kenji's plan. He felt confident that although his father would be very disapproving, his punishment would not be unreasonable or harsh. As a child who had never been treated harshly in his life, Kenji had that supreme confidence that the adults who loved him would love him no matter what he did.
Shishou Hiko's reaction was more of a gamble, but again, Kenji felt confident that his main "punishment" would consist of simply being sent home, which was exactly his goal. He quietly approached the corner of the shed, squatted down and reached for the few matches he'd concealed while helping his father make breakfast that morning.
It was not his intent to start a large destructive fire, merely a small contained one that would cause some minor damage to one corner of the shed to earn him his reward, er, punishment.
He was already entertaining visions of the train ride home to Tokyo as he quietly gathered dry grasses and small sticks against the front corner of the small building. Enough to easily start a fire such as the small cooking fires in the hibachi his father allowed him to help make before meals.
He even had his confession worked out. He would claim that he'd "accidently" thrown a lit match he'd been playing with against the shed, and it had caught fire before he could stop it.
Aren't most small boys at least a little fascinated with making fire? He and Toshiro had even managed to swipe a couple of matches a time or two and to light small fires in the damp earth down by the river, just to feel the small power and excitement of it all.
Of course, they'd been careful to conceal the evidence of their handiwork with plenty of dirt and even water from the nearby river when necessary. Kenji felt this would be no different, he'd light a small fire, blacken the corner of the building a little, confess, take his lumps and be on his way home with his father the very next day.
He smiled a wicked little smile in the gloom as a small flame leaped to life among the dried grasses and twigs.
"Do you smell fire, Shishou?" asked Kenshin as they headed around back of the cabin.
"I not only smell it, I can see it, Baka!" yelled Shishou as they followed their noses.
Unfortunately for Kenji, he had not taken into account the effect of even a small fire on very dry, old wood. The small blaze had quickly engulfed the entire corner of the small building up to the rooftop, and Kenji stood there in shock with a horrified expression on his face, the same face that had held a confidently wicked smile only minutes before.
The jig, as they say, was up. He turned to run for help, but ran into smack into the very solid arm of a ferociously scowling Seijiro Hiko, 13th Master of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu.
Kenshin was already throwing a bucket of water on the fire, and speeding to the water barrels outside of the buildings for more.
Roaring, "Don't move!" into Kenji's face as he plopped him roughly on the ground, Hiko joined Kenshin in his efforts and within a quarter hour, they had managed to extinguish the fire. The building still stood, but one front quarter of it was seriously damaged, and would have to be completely replaced.
They had contained the fire just in time to prevent it from destroying the contents of the shed.
Kenji was stunned, to say the least. He never imagined such a small fire could cause so much damage so quickly. He gulped and looked up into two pairs of outraged eyes, one dark and glowing as the depths of hell, and the other narrowed and swirling with amber flecks amid the violet.
Chapter Six
Good-bye Kenshin; Hello, Trouble
Despite his promise (threat?) to his Shishou, Kenshin was not "bawling like a baby" when he said good-bye to his son a few days later. In fact, as he made his way back down the mountainside, the foremost emotion he felt was relief.
Kenshin often wondered what demons of the mind possessed his son at times. He could be almost girlishly sweet at one moment, and in the next, he could cause more trouble and destruction than ten ruffians on a drunken spree.
After the previous night's events, Kenshin was more convinced than ever that three months with Shishou Hiko was the perfect discipline for his mercurial and hard-headed son.
He still couldn't believe what his son had managed to do in one single night's mischief.
Kenshin had awakened in the middle of the night, sensing that something was missing. The something was of course, Kenji.
He jumped up, "Where the hell is that boy now?!" thought Kenshin, hastily pulling on his clothes and sandals. He moved quietly so as not to wake Hiko.
Fat chance.
"What are you doing prowling around in the middle of the night, Baka deshi," muttered Hiko, suddenly appearing in the doorway, still in his sleeping robe.
"Kenji's gone, Shishou, and Kami only knows what he's up to this time," replied Kenshin tersely.
"Hmpf," snorted Hiko, turning back into his room to quickly dress "he'll get a personal tour of all nine hells when I find the little idiot."
Kenji had been restless all evening and after he heard his father's breathing become even in sleep, he'd left the cabin with a display of stealth that would have done credit to Aoshi himself.
Actually, he was still somewhat angry and upset that his father was leaving him for the next three months, although he did not admit it to himself. He only knew that he was somehow vaguely angry with his father and also Hiko, for being party to his "abandonment".
He'd come up with a plan to force his father's hand. If things went as planned, he'd be back home in Tokyo with his mother in a matter of days.
The airy shed in which Hiko kept his pottery was the focal point of Kenji's plan . He figured all he had to do was "accidently" cause a little minor damage and Shishou Hiko would no doubt throw him and his father halfway down the mountainside the next morning.
Then he could go home to life as usual at the dojo, and not have to spend the next three months bereft of his beloved Ka-chan, and having to live with one of the few people he'd encountered in his brief life that he didn't seem to be able to fool.
Kenji knew that within the shed, there were works of Hiko's self-proclaimed genius in various states of progress and he'd been forbidden to go in or touch anything unless the Master himself was with him.
Since forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest, Kenji decided right there and then that his plan would involve Hiko's pottery shed.
The slight risk involved only added incentive to Kenji's plan. He felt confident that although his father would be very disapproving, his punishment would not be unreasonable or harsh. As a child who had never been treated harshly in his life, Kenji had that supreme confidence that the adults who loved him would love him no matter what he did.
Shishou Hiko's reaction was more of a gamble, but again, Kenji felt confident that his main "punishment" would consist of simply being sent home, which was exactly his goal. He quietly approached the corner of the shed, squatted down and reached for the few matches he'd concealed while helping his father make breakfast that morning.
It was not his intent to start a large destructive fire, merely a small contained one that would cause some minor damage to one corner of the shed to earn him his reward, er, punishment.
He was already entertaining visions of the train ride home to Tokyo as he quietly gathered dry grasses and small sticks against the front corner of the small building. Enough to easily start a fire such as the small cooking fires in the hibachi his father allowed him to help make before meals.
He even had his confession worked out. He would claim that he'd "accidently" thrown a lit match he'd been playing with against the shed, and it had caught fire before he could stop it.
Aren't most small boys at least a little fascinated with making fire? He and Toshiro had even managed to swipe a couple of matches a time or two and to light small fires in the damp earth down by the river, just to feel the small power and excitement of it all.
Of course, they'd been careful to conceal the evidence of their handiwork with plenty of dirt and even water from the nearby river when necessary. Kenji felt this would be no different, he'd light a small fire, blacken the corner of the building a little, confess, take his lumps and be on his way home with his father the very next day.
He smiled a wicked little smile in the gloom as a small flame leaped to life among the dried grasses and twigs.
"Do you smell fire, Shishou?" asked Kenshin as they headed around back of the cabin.
"I not only smell it, I can see it, Baka!" yelled Shishou as they followed their noses.
Unfortunately for Kenji, he had not taken into account the effect of even a small fire on very dry, old wood. The small blaze had quickly engulfed the entire corner of the small building up to the rooftop, and Kenji stood there in shock with a horrified expression on his face, the same face that had held a confidently wicked smile only minutes before.
The jig, as they say, was up. He turned to run for help, but ran into smack into the very solid arm of a ferociously scowling Seijiro Hiko, 13th Master of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu.
Kenshin was already throwing a bucket of water on the fire, and speeding to the water barrels outside of the buildings for more.
Roaring, "Don't move!" into Kenji's face as he plopped him roughly on the ground, Hiko joined Kenshin in his efforts and within a quarter hour, they had managed to extinguish the fire. The building still stood, but one front quarter of it was seriously damaged, and would have to be completely replaced.
They had contained the fire just in time to prevent it from destroying the contents of the shed.
Kenji was stunned, to say the least. He never imagined such a small fire could cause so much damage so quickly. He gulped and looked up into two pairs of outraged eyes, one dark and glowing as the depths of hell, and the other narrowed and swirling with amber flecks amid the violet.
