Chapter 4: Pain Running through my mind
After work at the Akabeko Siye walked home. She had so much on her mind and everything seemed to be too overwhelming. As she got home she immediately went into her room and looked at her closet and drawyers filled with kimono's and training outfits, She looked at all of them, unsaticfied with the selection she currently had until she came across one of her training outfits. It was an open kimono top with a nice puffed shirt to so underneath and she had a pair of black pants that she used for her agility practice. She pulled it off the hanger and then put it on.
She looked at herself and took a deep breath, " I hope I can become better then I was, I need to keep training, I can't let anyone else beat me, I must be the best!!" She thought walking into her father's room, there lying on a pair of folded sheets lay a real Japanese sword, although she used one to practice, hers was dull and the handle seemed to be shredding and tearing apart. She took the sword before her out of the sheath and looked in awe at the brilliant silver reflection she saw. Her eyes were content and with that she admired the fine blade tip, " My father used this so many years ago, during the revolution. He was a great swordsman, along in his travels he met with the battosai and watched him in his Hiten Mitserugi style, he then mastered the techniques he saw, but they were only a few." She thought sheathing back the sword and attaching it to her side, " I shall practice until I get as good as my father, maybe even the battosai himself!" She then paused for a second, " Okay maybe just to my father," She smiled and made her way out of the house. " I will practice down at the riverside,"
* *
*
Siye held the sword firmly in her hands, and store at the tree before her, there she had attached a wooden plank to the branch. She then lunged towards it with full force and slashed it, although it didn't break the wood it managed to have a slash mark down the front. " Okay this time I shall break the wood," She yelled running towards it again this time jumping into the air and hitting it with the strength she had left and with that she managed to get another slash mark on the wooden surface.
She glared at the wood, " WHY DON'T YOU BREAK?!?" She yelled hitting it again and again and again with lousy swings. " you are never going to break it with that kind of attack!" A voice said from behind, Siye whirled around to see Yahiko and she sweatdropped, " how come you always seem to be wherever I am?" She asked. " All I know is that you will never break the wood with those kind of shots, let me try," He said as she passed him the sword, he then closed his eyes and took a deep breath and even though he was seven feet away from the board of wood he managed to break it in half with the force he harnessed, Siye looked in awe and embarrassment. " How could you do it from such a distance and I couldn't even do it from far away?" She asked.
" Why don't you try what I just did, absorb your strength and slash downwards." She nodded and copied Yahiko but when she finished, the attempt failed. She glared at Yahiko then to the tree, " See?! I can't do anything right!" She protested. " You're doing it wrong, your position is off and you don't really have control over your sword," He said, " What do you mean?!! I copied exactly what you did!!!" She argued. " Look let me show you how it is done," He moved closer to her.
He then went right behind her and told her which stance her legs should be in, then he told her to move her hands to copy that position, " Like this??" She asked positioning her hands to the side of her, " no like this," He grabbed her hand and positioned it in the opposite direction, she looked back to him and raised an eyebrow, " Eh Yahiko..." " Yeah?" She then stepped away from him, " Eh heh, that's a little too close for comfort," She said as he automatically blushed and turned away from her, " I'm sorry eh heh heh," He said as she held onto her hand and looked towards the ground, " That was a little weird...." She thought turning back around, " Are you going to teach me or not?" She asked. He turned to look at her, but didn't make eye contact, " Yeah okay, just position it like I showed you,"
She then did the stance, took a deep breath and slashed with all her might. She waited for a moment and then sighed, " Told ya, maybe I am just bad luck," She said. Just then she looked up to see that not the board was broken, but the whole branch, she stopped to think about it then randomly jumped up in joy, " I did it!!!! YAY!!!" She clapped her hands in joy, " Hey Yahiko! Didja see what I did?!?!!" She yelled, but when she turned around he was gone.
Yahiko ran to the Dojo as fast as he could, " oh man, I bet she thinks I am a jerk! What was I thinking?! I bet I freaked her out too, gosh dang it how am I ever going to show my face to her again?!!"
A cloaked figure stood at the corner of a room cleaning off the blood from his sword, " Nothing gets your revenge sweeter then a good slaughter." He said gazing at the reflection of himself shining from the blade, " It is now time for me to start what I have drempt of for all these years," he paused for a moment then grinned and chuckled, " come forth slave," Another man enters the room with hands tied behind his back, " What do you want now?!" The man scowled. The cloaked figure removed the hood and showed a man with dark brown hair and pale blue eyes, " I have a mission for you, Matsu, go over to the Kamiya Dojo in Tokyo and send them this gift," he threw a brown sack on the ground before the man, " I shall do what you say my lord, but you must ensure me that I would be able to go see my family, I haven't seen them in years, and-
The pale eyed man frowned, " You shall get what you desire it will come soon enough, now do as I have commanded!" He shouted cutting the bonds that tied his hands together. Matsu picked up the package and noticed that it had a sweet smelling fragrance, attached to the bag was a tag that said, " herbal tea salts" on it. " Sir if you don't mind me asking, why would you have me deliver this bag of tea salts," " Noneof your business, get going!"
Matsu ran down the streets stealthily carrying the bag in his hands making sure not to drop it, then just as he was about to turn the corner something ran into him from behind, " Hey watch where your going!!" A stout voice shouted. Matsu rubbed his head and turned back to face of young Yahiko, " Excuse me, sorry for running into you like that, but do you know where I could find the Kamiya dojo?" " Kamiya Dojo? That's where I live," " Well I am delivering this package from the," Matsu paused then looked at the tag, " from the Tea company, we wanted to give all of Tokyo a free sample, here why don't you smell it,"
Yahiko was handed the bag and he smelled the flavored salts, " It smells like mint, but why is it in salt form?" " Uh...we are testing it to see if..::come on make a witty observation:: tokyo was ready for the new revolutionary salt form of tea!" Yahiko looked at the bag, then up to the man, " Do I know you from somewhere?" he asked. " I don't think so, well I need to get back to hand out more samples, good-bye!" " There is something suspicious about that man, I could tell that he didn't really know what he was doing and he often stuttered, I'll take this back to the Dojo and have Kenshin take a look at this stuff,"
While Matsu was running back to the cloaked man's hideout he then came across his home, he walked up to the porch and took a deep breath, " It has been so long since I have been home, I wonder if Machiko and Siye will remember their old man," He thought knocking, " Mister, what are you doing at my house?" Siye asked, " ::Siye:: Hello little girl I was wondering if your mother was home," He thought making up an excuse. Siye paused and then walked up to the porch and opened the door, " No," She said softly, " Do you know when she will be back? I was hoping to maybe have a word with her, " She is never coming home, she is dead..so is my sister, I am sorry, but if you would rather talk to me about something I am all ears," Matsu gasped and clutched his heart, " I am sorry to hear that, may I asked how they died?" " don't mind me asking, but why are you asking me so many personal questions? Did you know them some how?" She gazed into his eyes, " Have we met before? Oh great now I am asking all the questions," " no, its okay, I will be on my way now, I am but a salesman, good-day."
" wait!" Siye yelled, " you're a traveling salesman right? If you were asking about my family you probably have a connection to my dad, please can you tell me where he is?!" she asked. " No, I am sorry." He said walking off into the distance.
" This is good tea," Kaoru commented pouring another cup for Kenshin, " I have to agree, this is probably the best tea I have had, I wonder what the tea company will come up with next," Kenshin said. " do you want some Yahiko?" " No," " Whats been going on with you lately Yahiko? Ever since you met Siye you have been much different," Kaoru pointed out, Yahiko was content, " The guy who gave me the tea looked almost exactly like Siye, if he was, I wonder what he was doing delivering tea and not being with Siye, I wonder if he even knows if his wife and other daughter are dead,"
" Yahiko," Kaoru said trailing off a bit, then automatically changing her tone, " I get whats going on, you have a crush on Siye don't you," Yahiko then growled at Kaoru, " No I don't! She is just my friend!" " You can say whatever you want Yahiko, but I am convinced!" Kaoru teased. " We are just friends!!!" Yahiko argued. Kaoru then for some odd reason paused, and all fell silent, " I think..I need to go lie down," Kaoru said standing up and holding onto her head, " Kaoru-dono! Let me help you I don't think you will make it by yourself that I don't," Kenshin said helping Kaoru stand up straight, " Ken...shin..." She said weakly as she fainted back in Kenshin's arms. " Yahiko go get some water and boil it, and go get Megumi-dono!" Kenshin ordered as he too fell faint and collapsed onto the ground, " It must have been the tea! I need to go get Megumi and the Doctor fast!"
Matsu went back to the headquarters, " You killed them," He growled, " Why so angry Matsu? How are you sure it was me?" " I know you killed them! I could see fear in Siye's eyes, she hasn't ever been afraid before!" " Ah, then I didn't kill them did I?" Matsu ran up to the man and clentched his fists, " I will make you pay for this!! I will fight you with everything I am!!" Matsu challenged. " You dare challenge me? Me the great Eishingi Tonawakka?!" " That's right, even if it kills me, I shall get my revenge upon you!" "Silence!" Eshingi shouted pushing Matsu back.
" Your daughter is all but too simple for me to slaughter! She is weak and lacks the strength a good swordsman should have. If you fail to obey my orders even then, I shall murder her myself! The only way you can truly have her survive is if you defeat one of the only manslayers around, the Battosai!" Matsu growled and turned his back to Eshingi, " Know you not that even if I tried I could never beat the battosai? I am but a man, he is like a God." " You speak fools words, you have the ability and you have superb defense skills, you need to get back into training and you shall be as great as the battosai. Go and train, that is an order not a request."
Siye had a bad feeling. That night she had walked to the store to spend her earnings on a quick bite to eat. She had gotten a bowl of rice and some chicken to go with it, while she ate it on the street she tried to remember what Yahiko had taught her, the new special move. " Baka, why did he just abandon me like that? Oh shut up Siye, he was probably embarrassed to be seen with the likes of you," She put her chopsticks down, " Why am I thinking of him at a time like this? It is like I have been thinking of him all day long!" She put her bowl down beside her too and put her hands to her head, " Why can't I get you out of my mind?! You Baka!! Come on, stop haunting my daydreams!" She said remembering when he moved close to her, " I wonder...if he thinks about me too... Siye! Hello get with the program I bet he was thinking about how stupid you were today!" she picked back up her rice and chopsticks and ate it with anger, " Grr, Baka Baka Baka!"
After work at the Akabeko Siye walked home. She had so much on her mind and everything seemed to be too overwhelming. As she got home she immediately went into her room and looked at her closet and drawyers filled with kimono's and training outfits, She looked at all of them, unsaticfied with the selection she currently had until she came across one of her training outfits. It was an open kimono top with a nice puffed shirt to so underneath and she had a pair of black pants that she used for her agility practice. She pulled it off the hanger and then put it on.
She looked at herself and took a deep breath, " I hope I can become better then I was, I need to keep training, I can't let anyone else beat me, I must be the best!!" She thought walking into her father's room, there lying on a pair of folded sheets lay a real Japanese sword, although she used one to practice, hers was dull and the handle seemed to be shredding and tearing apart. She took the sword before her out of the sheath and looked in awe at the brilliant silver reflection she saw. Her eyes were content and with that she admired the fine blade tip, " My father used this so many years ago, during the revolution. He was a great swordsman, along in his travels he met with the battosai and watched him in his Hiten Mitserugi style, he then mastered the techniques he saw, but they were only a few." She thought sheathing back the sword and attaching it to her side, " I shall practice until I get as good as my father, maybe even the battosai himself!" She then paused for a second, " Okay maybe just to my father," She smiled and made her way out of the house. " I will practice down at the riverside,"
* *
*
Siye held the sword firmly in her hands, and store at the tree before her, there she had attached a wooden plank to the branch. She then lunged towards it with full force and slashed it, although it didn't break the wood it managed to have a slash mark down the front. " Okay this time I shall break the wood," She yelled running towards it again this time jumping into the air and hitting it with the strength she had left and with that she managed to get another slash mark on the wooden surface.
She glared at the wood, " WHY DON'T YOU BREAK?!?" She yelled hitting it again and again and again with lousy swings. " you are never going to break it with that kind of attack!" A voice said from behind, Siye whirled around to see Yahiko and she sweatdropped, " how come you always seem to be wherever I am?" She asked. " All I know is that you will never break the wood with those kind of shots, let me try," He said as she passed him the sword, he then closed his eyes and took a deep breath and even though he was seven feet away from the board of wood he managed to break it in half with the force he harnessed, Siye looked in awe and embarrassment. " How could you do it from such a distance and I couldn't even do it from far away?" She asked.
" Why don't you try what I just did, absorb your strength and slash downwards." She nodded and copied Yahiko but when she finished, the attempt failed. She glared at Yahiko then to the tree, " See?! I can't do anything right!" She protested. " You're doing it wrong, your position is off and you don't really have control over your sword," He said, " What do you mean?!! I copied exactly what you did!!!" She argued. " Look let me show you how it is done," He moved closer to her.
He then went right behind her and told her which stance her legs should be in, then he told her to move her hands to copy that position, " Like this??" She asked positioning her hands to the side of her, " no like this," He grabbed her hand and positioned it in the opposite direction, she looked back to him and raised an eyebrow, " Eh Yahiko..." " Yeah?" She then stepped away from him, " Eh heh, that's a little too close for comfort," She said as he automatically blushed and turned away from her, " I'm sorry eh heh heh," He said as she held onto her hand and looked towards the ground, " That was a little weird...." She thought turning back around, " Are you going to teach me or not?" She asked. He turned to look at her, but didn't make eye contact, " Yeah okay, just position it like I showed you,"
She then did the stance, took a deep breath and slashed with all her might. She waited for a moment and then sighed, " Told ya, maybe I am just bad luck," She said. Just then she looked up to see that not the board was broken, but the whole branch, she stopped to think about it then randomly jumped up in joy, " I did it!!!! YAY!!!" She clapped her hands in joy, " Hey Yahiko! Didja see what I did?!?!!" She yelled, but when she turned around he was gone.
Yahiko ran to the Dojo as fast as he could, " oh man, I bet she thinks I am a jerk! What was I thinking?! I bet I freaked her out too, gosh dang it how am I ever going to show my face to her again?!!"
A cloaked figure stood at the corner of a room cleaning off the blood from his sword, " Nothing gets your revenge sweeter then a good slaughter." He said gazing at the reflection of himself shining from the blade, " It is now time for me to start what I have drempt of for all these years," he paused for a moment then grinned and chuckled, " come forth slave," Another man enters the room with hands tied behind his back, " What do you want now?!" The man scowled. The cloaked figure removed the hood and showed a man with dark brown hair and pale blue eyes, " I have a mission for you, Matsu, go over to the Kamiya Dojo in Tokyo and send them this gift," he threw a brown sack on the ground before the man, " I shall do what you say my lord, but you must ensure me that I would be able to go see my family, I haven't seen them in years, and-
The pale eyed man frowned, " You shall get what you desire it will come soon enough, now do as I have commanded!" He shouted cutting the bonds that tied his hands together. Matsu picked up the package and noticed that it had a sweet smelling fragrance, attached to the bag was a tag that said, " herbal tea salts" on it. " Sir if you don't mind me asking, why would you have me deliver this bag of tea salts," " Noneof your business, get going!"
Matsu ran down the streets stealthily carrying the bag in his hands making sure not to drop it, then just as he was about to turn the corner something ran into him from behind, " Hey watch where your going!!" A stout voice shouted. Matsu rubbed his head and turned back to face of young Yahiko, " Excuse me, sorry for running into you like that, but do you know where I could find the Kamiya dojo?" " Kamiya Dojo? That's where I live," " Well I am delivering this package from the," Matsu paused then looked at the tag, " from the Tea company, we wanted to give all of Tokyo a free sample, here why don't you smell it,"
Yahiko was handed the bag and he smelled the flavored salts, " It smells like mint, but why is it in salt form?" " Uh...we are testing it to see if..::come on make a witty observation:: tokyo was ready for the new revolutionary salt form of tea!" Yahiko looked at the bag, then up to the man, " Do I know you from somewhere?" he asked. " I don't think so, well I need to get back to hand out more samples, good-bye!" " There is something suspicious about that man, I could tell that he didn't really know what he was doing and he often stuttered, I'll take this back to the Dojo and have Kenshin take a look at this stuff,"
While Matsu was running back to the cloaked man's hideout he then came across his home, he walked up to the porch and took a deep breath, " It has been so long since I have been home, I wonder if Machiko and Siye will remember their old man," He thought knocking, " Mister, what are you doing at my house?" Siye asked, " ::Siye:: Hello little girl I was wondering if your mother was home," He thought making up an excuse. Siye paused and then walked up to the porch and opened the door, " No," She said softly, " Do you know when she will be back? I was hoping to maybe have a word with her, " She is never coming home, she is dead..so is my sister, I am sorry, but if you would rather talk to me about something I am all ears," Matsu gasped and clutched his heart, " I am sorry to hear that, may I asked how they died?" " don't mind me asking, but why are you asking me so many personal questions? Did you know them some how?" She gazed into his eyes, " Have we met before? Oh great now I am asking all the questions," " no, its okay, I will be on my way now, I am but a salesman, good-day."
" wait!" Siye yelled, " you're a traveling salesman right? If you were asking about my family you probably have a connection to my dad, please can you tell me where he is?!" she asked. " No, I am sorry." He said walking off into the distance.
" This is good tea," Kaoru commented pouring another cup for Kenshin, " I have to agree, this is probably the best tea I have had, I wonder what the tea company will come up with next," Kenshin said. " do you want some Yahiko?" " No," " Whats been going on with you lately Yahiko? Ever since you met Siye you have been much different," Kaoru pointed out, Yahiko was content, " The guy who gave me the tea looked almost exactly like Siye, if he was, I wonder what he was doing delivering tea and not being with Siye, I wonder if he even knows if his wife and other daughter are dead,"
" Yahiko," Kaoru said trailing off a bit, then automatically changing her tone, " I get whats going on, you have a crush on Siye don't you," Yahiko then growled at Kaoru, " No I don't! She is just my friend!" " You can say whatever you want Yahiko, but I am convinced!" Kaoru teased. " We are just friends!!!" Yahiko argued. Kaoru then for some odd reason paused, and all fell silent, " I think..I need to go lie down," Kaoru said standing up and holding onto her head, " Kaoru-dono! Let me help you I don't think you will make it by yourself that I don't," Kenshin said helping Kaoru stand up straight, " Ken...shin..." She said weakly as she fainted back in Kenshin's arms. " Yahiko go get some water and boil it, and go get Megumi-dono!" Kenshin ordered as he too fell faint and collapsed onto the ground, " It must have been the tea! I need to go get Megumi and the Doctor fast!"
Matsu went back to the headquarters, " You killed them," He growled, " Why so angry Matsu? How are you sure it was me?" " I know you killed them! I could see fear in Siye's eyes, she hasn't ever been afraid before!" " Ah, then I didn't kill them did I?" Matsu ran up to the man and clentched his fists, " I will make you pay for this!! I will fight you with everything I am!!" Matsu challenged. " You dare challenge me? Me the great Eishingi Tonawakka?!" " That's right, even if it kills me, I shall get my revenge upon you!" "Silence!" Eshingi shouted pushing Matsu back.
" Your daughter is all but too simple for me to slaughter! She is weak and lacks the strength a good swordsman should have. If you fail to obey my orders even then, I shall murder her myself! The only way you can truly have her survive is if you defeat one of the only manslayers around, the Battosai!" Matsu growled and turned his back to Eshingi, " Know you not that even if I tried I could never beat the battosai? I am but a man, he is like a God." " You speak fools words, you have the ability and you have superb defense skills, you need to get back into training and you shall be as great as the battosai. Go and train, that is an order not a request."
Siye had a bad feeling. That night she had walked to the store to spend her earnings on a quick bite to eat. She had gotten a bowl of rice and some chicken to go with it, while she ate it on the street she tried to remember what Yahiko had taught her, the new special move. " Baka, why did he just abandon me like that? Oh shut up Siye, he was probably embarrassed to be seen with the likes of you," She put her chopsticks down, " Why am I thinking of him at a time like this? It is like I have been thinking of him all day long!" She put her bowl down beside her too and put her hands to her head, " Why can't I get you out of my mind?! You Baka!! Come on, stop haunting my daydreams!" She said remembering when he moved close to her, " I wonder...if he thinks about me too... Siye! Hello get with the program I bet he was thinking about how stupid you were today!" she picked back up her rice and chopsticks and ate it with anger, " Grr, Baka Baka Baka!"