I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.
*Lines with-in the stars (*) are thoughts.*
Shadow's Return, chapter 11:
The silence is thick for several long moments. "Taiyoryu." Tengoku greets, emotionless, staring up at the warrior who had seriously wounded him.
"Tengoku." the heavily cloaked figure says, clearly surprised. "I had not expected to see you here."
"You don't say." the man returns. The sarcasm drips from his words. When he sees that Taiyoryu is still standing, he continues. "I thought you were ordered to sit down by the girl."
Taiyoryu clears his throat. "Hai, well..." he starts, but Tengoku cuts him off.
"Sit down, already." Tengoku moves to the side enough to make room for his former komon and friend. Taiyoryu, hesitantly, sits. Another few moments of uncomfortable silence settles before Tengoku speaks again. "Well?" he asks suddenly.
"Well, what?" the Akumu Minzoku asks, confused.
"When are you going to tell me what in the nine hells you were thinking?" the former shireikan blurts out.
Taiyoryu stares down at the floor for several long moments. "I am Akumu Minzoku." he says softly. "It was only a matter of time."
Tengoku stare bores into the warrior he thought he knew. "Yoshi." he says, nearly inaudible. "If that is how it must be, then, once this is over, we will meet once more, and only one of us will walk away."
Taiyoryu's shoulders sag, but he nods.
"Chikusho!" the man yells suddenly, smashing his fist into the floor, startling the refugees resting near him. "Taiyoryu Senshiyi, I know you better than that! You're a devious, perpetual schemer! You don't do anything with-out reason. I want the real reason you did this to me." He pauses to study the tortured look on Taiyoryu's face. "What ever it is, my friend, you can tell me."
"Friend?" Taiyoryu returns incredulously. "That requires a trust, one that I broke."
"Aa." the human says softly. "You did, indeed break that trust. Demo, there is one more trust left you have not broken." Taiyoryu looks at the former shireikan of the Akuma Ryoshi, his face showing that he doesn't know what the man is talking about. "I trust you to be you. If you tell me that you attacked be because you are Akumu Minzoku, then you are not being you. You are breaking that last trust." He stares hard into the Akumu's eye. "If you do that, then you truly are no better than your people."
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Ayame, her patient up and moving, finds herself with nothing to do. Suzume was sleeping against Kenshin's chest as he carried her around. Megumi was busy with patients and couldn't take the time to give her another patient. None of the other kids were up to playing games, since they were all too scared to do anything. Sighing in boredom, she sits against a wall.
Kenshin, Kaoru, Sanosuke, even Yahiko, only three years older than her, were trying to make plans to fight the strange monsters that had them blocked in the dojo.
She lays her head back against the wall, closing her eyes. Suddenly, she feels a presence just above her. Opening her eyes, she starts momentarily at the what she sees. The strange creature that was her patient for most of the day kneels before her. He looks into her eyes, a smile in his own.
"Arigatou gozaimasu." he says softly, kissing her on her forehead like her grandfather sometimes does.
She stares after him as he stands and walks away, joined by the stranger with the chest wound that she had spoken to earlier.
"I always knew you were a softy." the big man says as he steps near the creature. She couldn't hear what was said next, but the big man broke out into a loud laughter that shook the school.
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"Konban wa."
It's said so softly that Kaoru thinks she's hearing things at first. Taiyoryu stepped beside her with Tengoku beside him.
"May we join your council?"
"Aa." Kenshin says easily, as if this.. creature had never fought against him.
*Of course,* she thinks, *That's the way he is. Sanosuke had hated him and fought him in a duel. Yahiko had picked his pocket. Megumi had worked for the yakuza. Even I attacked him the first time we met. Then, of course, there's Shinomori Aoshi.* She had always marveled at the way Kenshin could turn an enemy into a staunch ally.
Looking back to the sketch of the dojo and it's grounds they had made on a piece of parchment, she listens as Kenshin explains their situation.
"The Akumu Minzoku have surrounded the dojo. This," he indicates a circle around the dojo, "is as close as they have dared to come, so far." He looks at Taiyoryu. "You said the dojo was protected. What kind of protection did you make that can keep them at bay like this?"
Taiyoryu shook his head. "I made no protection."
Kaoru gasps, then clamps her hand over her mouth. *If he made no protection for the dojo, then why haven't they attacked yet?*
"I strengthened a protection that was already here." he explains. The others, including Tengoku, look around, confused.
Kenshin, though, looks down for a moment, as if trying to remember something. "The Tokugawa protections." he murmurs, reminding them that the site of the Kamiya Dojo is a corner in one of the old Feng-Shui formations formed to keep evil spirits out during the early Edo period by the Tokugawa government.
"How long will it hold?" Kaoru asks.
Taiyoryu shrugs. "That is like asking how long before the mountain erupts and destroys the city. It is no longer a matter of magic, but nature."
"What do we do next?" Sano asks.
"We could get help from the government." Yahiko says, excitedly. "They owe us a lot of favors, anyway. Besides, they can't just let this happen in the town."
Sanosuke cuffs the boy on the head. "Oi, baka. How do we get out to ask them?"
"Oh..."
"We don't have to." Taiyoryu says, speaking for the softly. Everybody looks at him curiously. "They are already here."
*Lines with-in the stars (*) are thoughts.*
Shadow's Return, chapter 11:
The silence is thick for several long moments. "Taiyoryu." Tengoku greets, emotionless, staring up at the warrior who had seriously wounded him.
"Tengoku." the heavily cloaked figure says, clearly surprised. "I had not expected to see you here."
"You don't say." the man returns. The sarcasm drips from his words. When he sees that Taiyoryu is still standing, he continues. "I thought you were ordered to sit down by the girl."
Taiyoryu clears his throat. "Hai, well..." he starts, but Tengoku cuts him off.
"Sit down, already." Tengoku moves to the side enough to make room for his former komon and friend. Taiyoryu, hesitantly, sits. Another few moments of uncomfortable silence settles before Tengoku speaks again. "Well?" he asks suddenly.
"Well, what?" the Akumu Minzoku asks, confused.
"When are you going to tell me what in the nine hells you were thinking?" the former shireikan blurts out.
Taiyoryu stares down at the floor for several long moments. "I am Akumu Minzoku." he says softly. "It was only a matter of time."
Tengoku stare bores into the warrior he thought he knew. "Yoshi." he says, nearly inaudible. "If that is how it must be, then, once this is over, we will meet once more, and only one of us will walk away."
Taiyoryu's shoulders sag, but he nods.
"Chikusho!" the man yells suddenly, smashing his fist into the floor, startling the refugees resting near him. "Taiyoryu Senshiyi, I know you better than that! You're a devious, perpetual schemer! You don't do anything with-out reason. I want the real reason you did this to me." He pauses to study the tortured look on Taiyoryu's face. "What ever it is, my friend, you can tell me."
"Friend?" Taiyoryu returns incredulously. "That requires a trust, one that I broke."
"Aa." the human says softly. "You did, indeed break that trust. Demo, there is one more trust left you have not broken." Taiyoryu looks at the former shireikan of the Akuma Ryoshi, his face showing that he doesn't know what the man is talking about. "I trust you to be you. If you tell me that you attacked be because you are Akumu Minzoku, then you are not being you. You are breaking that last trust." He stares hard into the Akumu's eye. "If you do that, then you truly are no better than your people."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ayame, her patient up and moving, finds herself with nothing to do. Suzume was sleeping against Kenshin's chest as he carried her around. Megumi was busy with patients and couldn't take the time to give her another patient. None of the other kids were up to playing games, since they were all too scared to do anything. Sighing in boredom, she sits against a wall.
Kenshin, Kaoru, Sanosuke, even Yahiko, only three years older than her, were trying to make plans to fight the strange monsters that had them blocked in the dojo.
She lays her head back against the wall, closing her eyes. Suddenly, she feels a presence just above her. Opening her eyes, she starts momentarily at the what she sees. The strange creature that was her patient for most of the day kneels before her. He looks into her eyes, a smile in his own.
"Arigatou gozaimasu." he says softly, kissing her on her forehead like her grandfather sometimes does.
She stares after him as he stands and walks away, joined by the stranger with the chest wound that she had spoken to earlier.
"I always knew you were a softy." the big man says as he steps near the creature. She couldn't hear what was said next, but the big man broke out into a loud laughter that shook the school.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Konban wa."
It's said so softly that Kaoru thinks she's hearing things at first. Taiyoryu stepped beside her with Tengoku beside him.
"May we join your council?"
"Aa." Kenshin says easily, as if this.. creature had never fought against him.
*Of course,* she thinks, *That's the way he is. Sanosuke had hated him and fought him in a duel. Yahiko had picked his pocket. Megumi had worked for the yakuza. Even I attacked him the first time we met. Then, of course, there's Shinomori Aoshi.* She had always marveled at the way Kenshin could turn an enemy into a staunch ally.
Looking back to the sketch of the dojo and it's grounds they had made on a piece of parchment, she listens as Kenshin explains their situation.
"The Akumu Minzoku have surrounded the dojo. This," he indicates a circle around the dojo, "is as close as they have dared to come, so far." He looks at Taiyoryu. "You said the dojo was protected. What kind of protection did you make that can keep them at bay like this?"
Taiyoryu shook his head. "I made no protection."
Kaoru gasps, then clamps her hand over her mouth. *If he made no protection for the dojo, then why haven't they attacked yet?*
"I strengthened a protection that was already here." he explains. The others, including Tengoku, look around, confused.
Kenshin, though, looks down for a moment, as if trying to remember something. "The Tokugawa protections." he murmurs, reminding them that the site of the Kamiya Dojo is a corner in one of the old Feng-Shui formations formed to keep evil spirits out during the early Edo period by the Tokugawa government.
"How long will it hold?" Kaoru asks.
Taiyoryu shrugs. "That is like asking how long before the mountain erupts and destroys the city. It is no longer a matter of magic, but nature."
"What do we do next?" Sano asks.
"We could get help from the government." Yahiko says, excitedly. "They owe us a lot of favors, anyway. Besides, they can't just let this happen in the town."
Sanosuke cuffs the boy on the head. "Oi, baka. How do we get out to ask them?"
"Oh..."
"We don't have to." Taiyoryu says, speaking for the softly. Everybody looks at him curiously. "They are already here."
